The Obama Admin Blocked an Iranian-American Judge from Hearing Iranian Immigration Cases

In 2015, immigration Judge A. Ashley Tabaddor sued the United States Department of Justice after it forced her to recuse herself from “all immigration cases involving Iranians.”

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National Association of Immigration Judges president Dana Leigh Marks confirmed to NPR that the DOJ’s demands of Tabaddor “[appeared] to be discriminatory based on her Iranian heritage.”

NPR’s Richard Gonzales noted that although immigration cases are assigned at random, “sometimes the parties will ask that a judge recuse him or herself if they suspect a conflict of interest or bias.”

“According to Judge Tabaddor’s lawsuit, no one [had] accused her of bias,” he added. “Instead, Justice Department officials were concerned with the appearance of impropriety.”

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