Biden-appointed immigration judge alleges Trump dismissed her for reasons beyond ICE case orders

A controversial immigration judge selected by Joe Biden, who had previously instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to dismiss all their cases, expressed dismay over her dismissal during Donald Trump’s administration.

Judge Kerry Doyle, who worked out of Massachusetts, was one of more than 20 immigration judges who were abruptly fired on Friday without explanation.

She revealed to WGBH that she had recently received an email from the Executive Office of Immigration Review stating that the agency had decided that retaining her was not in their best interest.

After receiving the email, Doyle announced her termination on LinkedIn.

On Friday, she shared, “‘I had not publicly posted that I had started working as an [immigration judge] in the hope of keeping my head down and just getting to work and avoiding having a bullseye on me.'”

‘Unfortunately, I was unable to avoid the political pink slip.’

She went on to claim that all of the fired immigration judges – who do not have the same protections from firing as federal judges, who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate – were hired during the Biden administration.

‘The firing was political,’ she argued. 

Judge Kerry Doyle, who worked out of Massachusetts , was one of more than 20 immigration judges who were abruptly fired on Friday without explanation (photo credit: LinkedIn)

She shared the news on her LinkedIn, bemoaning her termination as ‘political’

But she went on to say she was not surprised by the email, after she appeared on a Department of Homeland Security ‘watchlist’ website late last year that labeled her a ‘target.’

It was critical of her appointment under Biden as the principal legal advisor for ICE, writing that Doyle has a ‘lifelong commitment to open borders and mass migration,’ according to MassLive. 

In her position as the principal legal advisor, Doyle had come under fire for a memo in which she directed ICE officials to dismissing older cases of immigrants who are not public safety threats amid a surge in illegal immigration at the southern border.

‘The exercise of prosecutorial discretion, where appropriate, can preserve limited government resources, achieve just and fair outcomes in individual cases, and advance DHS’s mission of administering and enforcing the immigration laws of the United States in a smart and sensible way that promotes public confidence,’ Doyle wrote at the time.

An ICE spokesperson reiterated, according to BuzzFeed, that the memorandum allows for ICE attorneys to exercise prosecutorial discretion authority and claimed it would help ‘build public confidence in our immigration system.’

‘Consistent with the enforcement guidance issued by Secretary Mayorkas, ICE focuses its civil immigration enforcement priorities on the apprehension and removal of non-citizens who pose a threat to our national security, public safety, and border security, consistent with all legal requirements and applicable court orders,’ the spokesperson said.

Following Doyle’s order, more than 350,000 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally had their immigration court cases dismissed, allowing them to go free without a verdict on the merits of their entry.

She had also previously helped lead a court challenge against Trump’s 2017 travel ban for people from multiple Muslim-majority countries.

The decision to fire her was made by the Trump administration, which sent her an email saying the Executive Office of Immigration Review ‘has determined that retaining you is not in the best interest of the agency’

Yet Doyle claimed to WGBH that none of the judges who were fired ‘were there to drive a political agenda.

‘We were there to do our jobs,’ she said as she argued that the Trump administration’s decision to fire the immigration judges will undermine the nation’s faith in the immigration system.

‘If you start making it political, it really does blow up the system and blow up people’s faith in the system.’

Doyle noted that many judges in the Boston area have served on immigration court across multiple administrations, arguing that those appointed to fill the roles do not act in a partisan manner.

‘It would be problematic for it to be political, because what civil servants do is they serve the public – we swore an oath to the Constitution.’ 

As the principal legal advisor for ICE, Doyle directed agents to dismissing older cases of immigrants who are not public safety threats

Following Doyle’s order, more than 350,000 migrants who entered the U.S. illegally had their immigration court cases dismissed, allowing them to go free without a verdict on the merits of their entry

Among the immigration judges who were fired were 13 who were recently hired to their position and had not yet been sworn in, according to the ABA Journal.

Five others were assistant chief immigration judges. 

Their terminations came just days before Trump ordered all ‘Biden era’ US Attorneys to be fired in an attempt to ‘restore confidence’ at the Department of Justice.

‘Over the past four years, the Department of Justice has been politicized like never before. Therefore, I have instructed the termination of ALL remaining ”Biden Era” U.S. Attorneys,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.

He demanded: ‘We must ”clean house” IMMEDIATELY, and restore confidence. America’s Golden Age must have a fair Justice System – THAT BEGINS TODAY!’

It is unclear whether the immigration judges’ terminations are related to the mandate, but the firings have raised concerns that the large backlog of immigration cases will take even longer to clear – as Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers President Matthew Biggs pointed out that a single judge can rule on 500 to 700 cases each year.

‘Look up the definition of “hypocrisy,”‘ he prodded WGBH. ‘It’s “when someone says one thing but does another.” 

‘The firing of immigration judges when we need more judges to enforce our immigration laws by this administration is a perfect example of hypocrisy,’ said Briggs, whose organization represents nearly 700 immigration judges.

For her part, Doyle was already preparing to take over the case of a colleague who had just left the court system when she was fired, meaning some of those cases will likely be drawn out even longer.

‘Those cases will have to be handed out to all the other judges,’ she said. ‘So it’s going to be even more work for them.’

She added that the Trump administration is going to ‘need every judge, every person available.

‘And so it will just make the court more congested.’ 

The firings have raised concerns that the large backlog of immigration cases will take even longer to clear

But this is not the first time a new presidential administration has fired judges.

In 2021 Judge Marna Rusher, who was hired by Trump, was fired shortly after Biden took office.

Doyle, though, seemed to have less of an issue with that decision, saying it was less likely to be ‘politically motivated.’

‘Maybe it’s jus that each president wants to have his imprimatur and people who will follow his agenda,’ she said.

‘I don’t think I would call that politically motivated in as much as they think they have a better idea for America and fairly treating people that come across the border.’