Fired Mass. immigration judge sues Trump administration to get his job back

One of more than a dozen Massachusetts immigration judges terminated under the Trump administration is suing to get his job back.

George Pappas, who was let go in July after serving less than two years at the courts in Chelmsford and Boston, alleges the Department of Justice discriminated against him because of his prior legal work defending immigrants.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Boston, also argues that Pappas faced discrimination because of his Greek national origin and his age. Pappas is 68.

Pappas is among more than 100 immigration judges fired by the DOJ since President Trump returned to office. Most were hired under the Biden administration, and dismissed before the end of a two-year probationary period, within which DOJ officials can decide not to "convert” new judge hires into permanent ones.

Pappas isn't challenging the DOJ’s authority to do that; he's instead claiming the decision was based on factors protected under civil rights law, according to Kevin Owen, a Maryland-based lawyer representing Pappas and six other immigration judges dismissed under similar circumstances.

“They're firing people who have had a background in civil rights organizations or  legal aid societies,” Owen said. “And so they're trying to develop a profile of who they think are going to simply rubber stamp the administration's view on deportation policy in this country.”

But Owen said that won’t necessarily result in court decisions that favor Trump’s enforcement agenda.

“They're not going by the data on whether or not these immigration judges who they're firing have a higher grant rate of relief for immigrants or not,” Owen said. “They're just simply profiling them based on impermissible reasons.”

In April, three more immigration judges were fired from Massachusetts courts, including two who had ruled against the administration in high-profile cases involving pro-Palestinian activists.

The DOJ’s Executive Office of Immigration Review declined to comment on the pending litigation. Pappas deferred comment to his lawyer.

Pappas was hired in July 2023, part of a class of 38 immigration judges across the country. The lawsuit claims he was among 20 not converted to permanent positions — a group he alleges included every judge in the class with a Hispanic, Middle Eastern or Indian surname.

The DOJ claims it evaluates all immigration judges — regardless of background — on factors such as impartiality, adherence to the law, productivity, performance and professionalism.

According to the suit, Pappas exceeded all performance standards during his nearly two years on the immigration bench, and never received any form of discipline, nor feedback that his performance was problematic.

Pappas is suing for damages and to force the DOJ to restore his position on the immigration court. He’s currently practicing law in North Carolina.