The Justice Department has axed New York’s most lenient immigration court judge, The Post has learned.
Judge Vivienne Gordon-Uruakpa, who ruled in favor of asylum claimants 97% of the time — more than any of her colleagues in the state – was terminated without public notice back in September because of her prolific record of asylum rulings, according to a government official.
Gordon-Uruakpa no longer appears on the web site of the downtown Manhattan courthouse where she used to serve.
The DOJ would only say the site “is up to date.”
Gordon-Uruakpa was featured in a story last week about the how migrants roll the dice when making immigration claims, with the judge they draw by chance having major influence on whether they get to stay here. Officials were coy about her status at the time.
Her departure appears to be part of a massive culling of the most lenient judges.
Attorney General Pam Bondi gets to hire and fire immigration court judges — lawyers who don’t enjoy the lifetime tenure perks that many other federal judges do. Gordon-Uruakpa, 66, attended Fordham University in the Bronx and the Howard University School of Law. Her background is in legal aid and criminal defense.
Trump has fired more than 100 immigration judges during his term as deportation rates grow while the administration has managed to slash illegal entry into the country at the borders.
Nearly 80 percent of migrants seeking asylum were deported in the last quarter, according to Syracuse University’s TRAC program.
The toughest New York judge on asylum, John Burns, got named Acting Assistant Chief Judge in January.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the reason Gordon-Uruakpa was fired.
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