CHICAGO (WLS) — The head of Chicago’s immigration court was abruptly fired recently and is now sharing her story with the ABC 7 I-Team.
The judicial branch plays a critical role in managing immigration enforcement in this country, but two judges are concerned that it is being neglected in favor of quicker deportation processes.
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But since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump’s administration has been firing immigration judges with years of experience.
Judge Jennifer Peyton, who served as the Assistant Chief Immigration Judge at Chicago’s immigration court for almost nine years, describes the last six months as “harsh.”
“I kept telling myself, and my husband kept saying, like, ‘They’re going to have to fire me. I’m not quitting,'” Peyton said.
Peyton is still reeling after being terminated in an email over the 4th of July weekend while on vacation with her family.
“There’s three complete sentences,” Peyton said. “No reason, no cause. And I’m not trying to flex, but I have a pretty spotless record.”
According to Peyton, she consistently received excellent performance reviews and was even awarded the Director’s Award by the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
But the July 3 letter states, in part, “Pursuant to Article II of the Constitution, the Attorney General has decided to remove you from your position as an excepted service Assistant Chief Immigration Judge… Your removal is effective today.”
Peyton told the I-Team she oversaw thousands of asylum and other removal cases.
Now, the contents of her office are stuffed in boxes and she’s sorting through emotions of what is happening with immigration courts she deeply believes in.
“Within a couple hours of the inauguration of President Trump, four senior leaders, all female, were fired by email,” Peyton told the I-Team. “February 14th, a group of seven Assistant Chief Immigration Judges like myself all received emails in the afternoon, firing without cause.”
The upheaval has sent other immigration judges running for the exits, like Immigration Judge Kristi Nelson.
After Jan. 20, Nelson said, “There was a massive change in the tone. It was basically like we were being told that we weren’t valued.”
“They just wanted to get rid of us,” Nelson said.
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The immigration court system is convoluted. It isn’t actually a “court” in the traditional sense.
Despite it having judges, attorneys on both sides and hearings, it does not fall under the judicial branch and is separate from criminal court.
“You’re less independent because you’re a part of the executive branch of government and you’re actually employed by the Department of Justice,” Nelson explained. “So, the attorney general technically is who makes the appointments.”
And it’s the attorney general who can, and now is firing Immigration judges nationwide, and in Chicago.
Judge Peyton’s three-sentence termination letter came from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, a branch that reports to the Attorney General.
The EOIR denied the I-Team’s multiple requests for comment or any interviews.
Nelson believes the firings are part of a coordinated effort.
“I think that there’s an effort going on to bypass the immigration courts,” Nelson explained. “When there’s fewer judges, I think the administration is going to be using expedited removal. They are using expedited removal more frequently than in the past, and it results in more people being deported.”
One way to bypass the courts, the judges say, is the use of ‘expedited removal’ or a process in which ICE can detain someone and deport them in a matter of days.
Late Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin released a statement calling Judge Peyton’s firing an “abuse of power” and punishment for “a non-political judge.”
Durbin told the I-Team he met with Peyton in Chicago immigration court late last month, triggering an email to the Judge from the Department of Justice saying, “immigration judges should not directly communicate with members of Congress and congressional staff.”
The notice “required all communications from congressional offices to be forwarded to headquarters for review and response. Judge Peyton was fired soon after,” Durbin said.
“We cannot abide these fear tactics,” Durbin told the I-Team. “I stand by Judge Peyton and many others like her who have been fired for simply doing their jobs.”
The firings of immigration judges — including Chicago immigration judge Carla Espinoza who was terminated last week – has left Judge Peyton fearful.
“I’m worried about myself, and my future, but I’m really mostly worried about our country,” Peyton told the I-Team.
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