Thread by @reveal

1/ Your chances in immigration court depend a lot on which judge hears your case.

On this week’s new episode, @patrickmichels interviews a judge who ordered people deported more often than almost any other judge in the country. revealnews.org/episodes/trans…

2/ Judge Lorraine Muñoz worked in Los Angeles, where ICE had a special detention unit for transgender women. As one of 2-3 judges who heard those cases, she had a huge impact on trans women seeking asylum.

3/ In her last six years on the bench, she decided 617 asylum claims — and rejected 600 of them.
trac.syr.edu/immigration/re…

4/ But it wasn’t just her rulings that were tough.

A lot of what we know about her courtroom came from complaints filed against her, which became public after @AILANational sued the government to see them.

5/ One lawyer described a hearing in Muñoz's court as “an inquisition.” Muñoz's name is redacted here, but we've established these documents refer to her. documentcloud.org/documents/4057…

6/ For a while, Muñoz was assigned to hear children’s cases.

According to one complaint, she asked a boy, “Why are you still afraid of your father? That was years ago.”

7/ A lawyer we spoke with said it was worst for her transgender clients. She insisted on calling trans women “sir” and using their former names.

Her explanation: If Pee Wee Herman were in her court, she’d call him “Paul” because that’s what’s on his ID.
splinternews.com/court-blasts-j…

8/ Reporter @patrickmichels spoke to one transgender asylum-seeker who explained the experience like this:

9/ Judge Muñoz told us the complaints were just from a vocal minority, that some people just didn’t like the high standards she held lawyers to. After getting 29 complaints in six years, she was never disciplined.

10/ But in 2015, an appeals court decided her rulings and her behavior were both wrong. Ironically, that decision created a precedent that *helps* transgender women in their asylum claims today. theatlantic.com/notes/2015/09/…

11/ Judge Muñoz says she wished she’d gotten training to avoid the mistakes she made. And actually, the government does train some immigration officials about using people’s correct gender pronouns and names.
uscis.gov/sites/default/…

12/ As of February, ICE had more than 100 transgender women in custody waiting for their date in court. The judges who’ll hear their cases — including 170+ hired by President Trump — don’t get that training.
washingtonblade.com/2019/02/08/ice…

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