Thread by @Haleaziz

Rebecca Jamil loved being an immigration judge.

But last yr, she quit. She no longer could represent the DOJ under Trump.

Multiple judges told me similar.

“They chipped away @ our authority on a daily basis, it felt like we weren’t really judges."

buzzfeednews.com/article/hameda…

While some have resigned, others have retired in large part bc of policies instituted under Trump

For those remaining, the mood is bleak

“It has become so emotionally brutal & exhausting that many ppl I know are leaving or talking about finding an exit strategy,” said one judge

Another DOJ official who was not authorized to speak on the record told me, “it is exhausting when you feel undervalued by the people at the top of your organization, especially when they are motivated by partisanship and have not spent their careers doing the job that you do.”

Some have been bold. John Richardson, a former judge in Phoenix, stepped down on 9/30/18 — the day before the admin instituted a quota for the # of cases to be completed by judges.

"The timing of my retirement was a direct result of the draconian policies of the Administration."

Another judge who resigned from the bench in September told staff members in a goodbye email, “I know things are getting difficult for you at [Executive Office for Immigration Review], but I believe all you will ‘ride through the storm’ and ‘come out with a smile.’”