Anti-DEI Efforts Aimed at Female Immigration Judges, Suit Says

Dozens of female immigration judges and others with ethnic minority backgrounds were fired by the Department of Justice amid the Trump administration’s attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, according to a new federal lawsuit.

The case is the latest legal challenge to the termination of judges in the DOJ-operated immigration courts since last year. The agency has overhauled the makeup of those courts and added pressure on judges to reject asylum claims as part of a larger mass deportation agenda.

Irma Pérez, who filed the suit in the Central District of California, had served as a judge in the Santa Ana and West Los Angeles Immigration Courts since 2023. Despite positive performance assessments during a two-year probationary period, she was notified in July of last year that her position wouldn’t be converted to a permanent appointment and she would be terminated.

The overwhelming number of judges not converted to permanent positions during that period were, like Pérez, women and over the age of 40, according to her June 6 complaint. Several also were Hispanic or had Hispanic surnames, while no judges with Middle Eastern or South Asian surnames were hired for permanent positions after probationary periods, the suit said.

Pérez’s complaint also alleges that she was targeted because she is a registered voter with the Democratic Party and has donated to Democratic political campaigns.

She alleges her firing violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and the First Amendment of the US Constitution. The suit asks that she be reinstated to her position and awarded compensatory damages.

Perez is represented by Bertling Law Group. The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Perez v. Blanche, C.D. Cal., No. 2:26-cv-06173, complaint filed 6/6/26.