S.F. immigration courts have lost more judges than any in the country

"The city has lost 14 immigration judges to firings since April last year, and seven to retirement or resignation. The losses have left the immigration judicial system in the city decimated. The city's immigration courts had 21 judges at the start of President Donald Trump's second term and now have just two judges. One of the courts closed at the beginning of May, and its second has now become a satellite of the Concord court across the bay."

"Nationwide, 115 judges have been fired since April of last year, at least another 100 retired or were reassigned, and 46 judges were offered buyouts, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges. Mission Local's analysis was based on data compiled by the association, a union representing immigration judges."

"The union cautioned that this data could be an undercount: The Executive Office for Immigration Review, the federal agency that oversees immigration courts, has not shared complete data. The union had to cobble together the data on its own."

""It's a loss for San Francisco, and it is a loss for non-citizens and citizens alike that came to rely on a court that provided full and fair hearings, and now there no longer will be," said Jeremiah Johnson, a former San Francisco immigration judge who was one of the 14 fired by President Trump's administration in a wave of terminations that began in April 2025."

San Francisco’s immigration courts have been severely weakened by firings and resignations of immigration judges. Fourteen judges were fired since April of the previous year, and seven more left through retirement or resignation. The city’s immigration court system has shrunk from 21 judges at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term to two judges. One court closed in early May, and the remaining court became a satellite of the Concord court. Nationwide, 115 judges were fired, at least 100 retired or were reassigned, and 46 were offered buyouts. The union cautioned the figures may be incomplete because the overseeing agency has not provided complete data.

Read at Mission Local