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A California immigration judge who was terminated by the Trump administration is alleging in a lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ) that she was fired because she is a registered Democrat and because of her affiliations with immigrant-rights groups.
The 14-page lawsuit, filed by Kyra Lilien, names the DOJ and Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants.
Lilien claims she was not retained past her probationary period because of a number of factors, including being a woman over the age of 40, being fluent in Spanish and her associations with the Hispanic community.
Kevin Owen of Gilbert Employment Law in Maryland, one of Lilien’s attorneys, told FOX San Francisco that she didn’t fit their mold and that the actions taken against her were impermissible and unlawful.
The lawsuit alleges that her termination violated Lilien’s civil and First Amendment rights.
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Asylum seekers seen walking toward the southern border in Tijuana, Mexico and a image of a courtroom in the Concord Immigration Court. Kyra Lilien, an immigration judge is suing the Trump administration over her termination, alleging she was fired because of her political affiliations. (Getty Images; Concord Immigration Court)
Lilien was initially appointed to serve at the San Francisco Immigration Court on July 23, 2023, before being transferred to the Concord Immigration Court in February 2024. In total, she served nearly two years, which is the standard probationary period immigration judges serve under Justice Department policy before their appointments are typically converted to permanent roles.
The lawsuit names nearly 30 other immigration judges from around the country who were either fired or not converted from probationary periods, including 14 from the Concord and San Francisco immigration courts.
The filing states that immigration judges who were not converted or were terminated around the same time as the plaintiff were overwhelmingly female. Digital has reached out to Lilien’s attorney, the DOJ, as well as the DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
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Lilien was initially appointed to serve at the San Francisco Immigration Court on July 23, 2023, before being transferred to the Concord Immigration Court in California in February 2024. (iStock)
Throughout her employment and during her probationary period, Lilien met or exceeded all performance standards, according to the lawsuit.
She received satisfactory assessments — the highest possible rating — in her probationary period reports for fiscal years 2024 and 2025. As a judge, Lilien denied 34% of asylum claims brought before her, according to data from TRAC Immigration.
On July 11, 2025, Lilien received a notice that her probationary period would not be converted permanently, with the message stating that the attorney general had decided not to extend her term or convert it to a permanent appointment pursuant to Article II of the Constitution.
Migrants line up at the southern border in San Diego in 2024. ()
The suit also alleges that Sirce Owen, who was serving as the acting EOIR director at the time, issued controversial memoranda in early 2025 that demonstrated hostility toward immigrant advocacy groups and certain hiring practices.
Owen allegedly characterized these groups in a memo as “extremist leftist organizations” that promote illegal immigration and attempt to undermine immigration courts.
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He also issued another memo criticizing the appointment practices under the Biden administration.
Lilien’s suit states that these memoranda together laid bare management’s hostility toward hiring individuals with immigrants’ rights backgrounds, women, ethnic minorities and others who may be considered “DEI” hires.
