The Trump administration has fired an Indian-origin immigration judge, Rupal Patel, after she blocked a high-profile deportation case involving a pro-Palestinian student.Patel was among six immigration judges fired Friday by the GOP administration.
Her dismissal, along with that of fellow judge Nina Froese, comes amid allegations that judges are being pressured to uphold deportations and reject asylum claims.Unlike federal judges, immigration judges work under the supervision of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and can be appointed or fired by the Attorney General. Patel was appointed in 2024 and was nearing the end of her two-year probationary period when she was removed from her position.Her expulsion came after a ruling was issued in January, which found no legal basis for the deportation of Rumaysa Ozturk. Ozturk was a Turkish-born student whose visa was canceled after she criticized her university’s position on Palestinian issues in a student newspaper. Froese also dismissed the deportation case against Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian student and green card holder linked to anti-Israel protests on campus.Immigration authorities had detained both students to suppress international students who expressed their support for Palestinian issues.
The Republican Party administration has described many of these protests as anti-Semitic.MAGA officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said El Mahdaoui’s continued presence in the United States could “undermine” US foreign policy. However, civil liberties groups say the arrests and deportation attempts were aimed at suppressing freedom of expression.The Ministry of Homeland Security appealed the decision in the Ozturk case, and said it would continue trying to deport El Mahdaoui.Patel said the administration’s expectations were clear. “It was a pressure that I at least tried to resist effectively,” she said in an interview. “All people in the United States are entitled to due process, and everyone deserves to have their cases decided completely and fairly.”Froes was in the middle of her asylum case when she was told she was being expelled and had to stop the hearing. She later questioned whether her decision in the case affected her dismissal.
“I don’t know what’s going through other people’s minds,” she said. “But I can’t imagine it was helpful.”The Trump administration has already fired more than 100 immigration judges since returning to office, while appointing more than 140 new judges seen as more aligned with his tough, conservative immigration agenda. At the same time, more people than ever are being ordered to leave the country, the number of accepted asylum applications is falling, and cases are being decided more quickly. The large backlog of cases under the previous government has also begun to decline.The New York Times reported that Patel and Froese were granted asylum at rates higher than the national average.
