Former immigration judge sues DOJ over alleged retaliation

Former San Francisco immigration judge Chloe Dillon has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, alleging she was terminated in retaliation for whistleblowing. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims Dillon was fired in August 2025 approximately 48 hours after reporting what she described as the unlawful and unconstitutional detention of an unaccompanied minor by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Dillon alleges that the minor had a right to have a previously filed asylum application considered before being placed in expedited removal proceedings. The lawsuit further claims Dillon had previously objected to a 2025 directive requiring immigration judges to grant all ICE motions to relocate cases to different venues, an action she argued was contrary to law and detrimental to a noncitizen’s right to counsel.

According to the complaint, a supervisor warned Dillon that ‘the White House’ was monitoring the issue and cautioned her against resisting the directive. The lawsuit cites violations of the Whistleblower Protection Act, the First and Fifth Amendments, and the Appointments Clause. This legal action follows reports that the Trump administration has dismissed over 100 immigration judges since January 2025.