#immigration-judges

#immigration-judges

The Justice Department has hired 36 immigration judges, including 25 temporary ones, for its Executive Office for Immigration Review, marking the first class to join the immigration courts after months of cuts to the workforce. Judges will soon take the bench across 16 states, according to a Justice Department announcement. These include courts that saw the biggest losses of judges this year such as Chelmsford, Mass., and Chicago.

Loi McCleskey, the assistant chief immigration judge for San Francisco's immigration courts, was fired Tuesday, according to four sources close to the court. McCleskey's role was essentially to oversee the other judges in San Francisco's immigration court: Milli Atkinson of the San Francisco Bar Association said she was the direct supervisor of every immigration judge in the city, responsible for ensuring the courts run smoothly. She directed judges and court staff on proper court procedures and rules, Atkinson said.