Woke Immigration Judge Appointed By Biden Bursts into Tears After She’s Fired Halfway Through an Asylum Hearing
Former immigration judge Shuting Chen. Credit: Shuting Chen LinkedIn
A San Francisco immigration judge had an emotional reaction last week after being removed from her position by the Trump Administration during a hearing.
According to The Daily Mail, 41-year-old Judge Shuting Chen was overseeing an asylum case involving three Venezuelan siblings on Friday when she received an email titled “notice of termination.”
Upon seeing the message, Chen reportedly broke down in tears and informed the courtroom that she would not be able to finish the case.
“I started to cry in my courtroom in front of the parties, which I always tried not to do, despite the traumatic nature of our jobs,” Chen told NBC Bay Area News. “I’m an immigrant myself, and I never took my role as a judge for granted. I don’t just mourn the loss of a job but also the disintegration of a system.”
Chen, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022, criticized the Trump Administration for removing judges appointed by the previous administration.
“This is an all-out attack on the immigration court,” Chen said. “We began the year with 21 judges, and now we have nine, I think, in San Francisco.” Chen emphasized that she was never a “deportation judge” and expressed hope that her replacement and other new judges would continue her approach.
“I remain optimistic that people who are being brought on will not see themselves either as deportation judges, but as immigration judges, or just judges,” she said. “People who are trying to understand the law, who are grappling with it and thinking about it, and trying to do the right thing.”
Another San Francisco immigration judge, Jeremiah Johnson, was also removed. “We are all public servants,” Johnson told NBC Bay Area News. “We spent years of our lives serving the United States government in this role. And no explanation? No ‘thank you?’”
These removals are part of President Trump’s broader effort to reshape the immigration judiciary. Reports indicate that more than 100 immigration judges have been fired or resigned since he took office this year, including several in the Bay Area. In July alone, 20 judges were removed.
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