Fired Immigration Judge Sues DOJ, Says She Was Ousted for Flagging ICE's Detention of a Minor

Former San Francisco immigration judge Chloe Dillon sued the Justice Department on September 10, 2026, alleging she was fired 48 hours after emailing a supervisor that ICE had "unlawfully detained" an unaccompanied minor whose asylum case had been closed. Dillon, who says she received "excellent reviews" over three years on the bench, says her termination letter cited Article II authority and violated the Whistleblower Protection Act and the First and Fifth Amendments.

The complaint also describes an earlier warning that "the White House" was watching Dillon's objections to a directive requiring judges to grant all DHS requests to move cases to other venues. Dillon is the first of more than 120 immigration judges removed since 2025 to sue over her firing, raising the question of whether judges' internal objections to ICE practice are being treated as grounds for dismissal.

The Justice Department called the allegation "patently false" and said it is "restoring integrity" to the immigration courts. The suit, filed in the Northern District of California, is pending.