A California immigration judge has filed a federal lawsuit against the Department of Justice, alleging she was terminated because she is a registered Democrat, a woman over 40, fluent in Spanish, and had ties to immigrant-rights groups. Kyra Lilien had been in the San Francisco Immigration Court since 2023, before transferring to the Concord Immigration Court in 2024.
Last July, Lilien was notified that her two-year probationary period would not be converted to a permanent appointment. The 14-page lawsuit, filed this week, names the DOJ and Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants. Lilien claims she met or exceeded all performance standards and received the highest possible ratings in her probationary reports for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. According to TRAC Immigration data, she denied just 34% of asylum claims brought before her. Despite this, she alleges her removal violated her civil and First Amendment rights.
