Bondi blasts discrimination lawsuit from immigration judge: 'Last time I checked, I'm a woman too'
Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed back Tuesday after being sued by a former immigration judge who claims she was wrongfully fired — the first legal challenge to the Trump administration’s...
By Fox News · Fox News
Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed back Tuesday after being sued by a former immigration judge who claims she was wrongfully fired — the first legal challenge to the Trump administration’s sweeping removal of more than 100 immigration judges this year. The lawsuit, filed Monday by former Ohio immigration judge Tania Nemer, accuses the Justice Department of discrimination based on sex, nationality, and political affiliation. Its filing comes as the administration accelerates its effort to reshape the immigration courts amid record legal clashes over its border crackdown. Speaking at a White House Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump , Bondi dismissed the discrimination allegations and highlighted the department’s recent push against violent crime and drug trafficking in the face of numerous lawsuits. "Most recently, yesterday, I was sued by an immigration judge who we fired," Bondi said. "One of the reasons she said she was a woman." TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE "Last I checked, I was a woman as well," she quipped. Nemer's lawsuit accuses the Justice Department of illegally violating her protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as well as her First Amendment rights to engage in political activity. She is not the only immigration judge to be removed from her position under the Trump administration. Since January, at least 100 immigration judges have been fired or "pushed out" from their roles, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, a union that represents many of the judges. Eight immigration judges were fired in New York City on Monday, the New York Times reported this week , prompting fresh concerns about the reduction in staff and ability to handle the caseload. "I think what's happening in the immigration court system is very troubling," Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute and director of the office at NYU's law school, told F…