The US Department of Justice has dismissed eight immigration judges in New York City, the association representing them said Tuesday, amid tensions with the courts as President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on undocumented migrants.
According to the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), which confirmed media reports, the eight judges all worked at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan. The address houses a court that reviews cases of migrants attempting to regularize their status.
For months, masked federal officers have been patrolling the hallways of the Jacob K. Javitz Federal Building daily. The officers make arrests of migrants as they leave hearings, but under the watchful eye of the press, which is frequently present.
Images of scuffles with police and of immigrant families being separated have gone viral around the world, making 26 Federal Plaza a symbolic site of the Trump administration’s crackdown on migrants nationwide.
It’s unclear what led to the eight New York judges being dismissed. However, they join approximately 90 judges who were dismissed over the year across the country out of about 600, according to a report by the New York Times.
As migrant advocacy groups see them, these dismissals are aimed at replacing the outgoing judges with others who are more aligned with the administration’s immigration policy.
The dismissals took place after several dozen people gathered in Manhattan over the weekend to try to prevent a possible raid by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) against street vendors. The New York police made several arrests.
As a so-called sanctuary city for migrants, New York City voluntarily limits cooperation between its local authorities and federal immigration services. However, it does not prevent their operations.
