A federal immigration judge in San Francisco has sued the US Justice Department, alleging she was dismissed after raising concerns about the Trump administration’s immigration policies and opposing an Immigration and Customs Enforcement request involving a teenage asylum seeker.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday, Chloe Dillon claimed she was removed from her position about 48 hours after sending an email to a superior about an incident involving the teenager in August 2025.
According to the complaint, the asylum seeker had appeared before Dillon without a lawyer. ICE had asked the court to dismiss the case and move the teenager into expedited removal proceedings, but Dillon delayed the request and gave the individual an opportunity to obtain legal representation.
The teenager was later arrested by ICE after leaving the courtroom, an incident Dillon said alarmed her.
Dillon alleged that she believed the individual was “almost certainly a designated unaccompanied minor who could not be placed into expedited removal proceedings, and who thus had the right to have his already-filed asylum application decided first by an asylum officer, and then, if necessary, by the Immigration Court,” according to the lawsuit.
The judge subsequently raised her concerns with a superior, arguing that ICE’s actions were interfering with the proper functioning of the court.
In the message, Dillon accused ICE of “disrupting the orderly administration of justice,” the lawsuit stated.
Speaking to SFGate, Dillon said the alleged dismissal of judges over their rulings had created an atmosphere that threatened the independence of immigration courts.
“When you have judges who are in fear that they will be fired for the decisions that they’re making, it has completely undermined the basic principles of judicial adjudication,” Dillon told SFGate. “I don’t see how you have fair and unbiased tribunals in the immigration court when there is this atmosphere of fear and intimidation.”
Judge Alleged Pressure Over Case Transfers
Dillon’s lawsuit also claimed that the San Francisco immigration court had faced pressure from the Trump administration to comply with ICE requests to move cases to other venues.
She alleged that a superior warned her in spring 2025 that the White House “was watching the issue and cautioned her against resisting the directive.”
Dillon said she nevertheless declined to comply with some of the requests. She also challenged efforts to bring cases involving unaccompanied minors back onto the court’s calendar when she believed ICE did not have the required jurisdiction.
The lawsuit alleges that Dillon was eventually dismissed without being given prior notice or an opportunity to contest the decision.
She is seeking reinstatement, back pay and damages. The complaint also asks the court to declare her dismissal unlawful, arguing that her constitutional rights under the First and Fifth Amendments, as well as federal law, were violated.
The case names the Justice Department and Attorney General Todd Blanche among the defendants.
The Justice Department rejected Dillon’s allegations.
“While we do not typically comment on pending litigation or personnel matters, we can tell you that this allegation is patently false,” a DOJ spokesperson told The Independent in a statement.
“After four years of the Biden Administration forcing Immigration Courts to implement a de facto amnesty for hundreds of thousands of aliens, this Department of Justice is restoring integrity to our immigration system and encourages talented legal professionals to join in our mission to protect national security and public safety,” the official added.
Immigration Courts Face Wider Changes
Dillon’s allegations come amid broader changes to immigration courts under the Trump administration.
Over the past year and a half, the administration has dismissed most of the immigration judges in San Francisco and closed one of the city’s major immigration courts.
Immigration enforcement has also expanded around locations where migrants interact with the legal system. Authorities have increased arrests near courthouses, schools and other places previously treated as sensitive locations.
Several people have also reported being arrested after attending appointments with immigration officials to check on their pending cases or legal status, despite such appointments previously taking place without incident.
