Former immigration judge alleges DOJ pressure to reverse rulings
Source published: Oct 25, 2026 · 8:58 AM EDT · Event: 2026-10-25
Former immigration judge Karen Donoso Stevens told The Washington Post that a supervisor said unidentified “higher-ups” ordered her to vacate four bond decisions in September 2025 without the normal motion or appeal process. She said she reluctantly reversed the rulings, was later questioned about other bond grants, removed from detained cases on January 14 and dismissed on May 21. The Post says her account was corroborated by contemporaneous notes and by colleagues, family members and private attorneys, including a colleague who heard the disputed call. Those are reported allegations and corroborating accounts, not findings by a court or inspector general.
Response / context
EOIR told The Post that it adjudicates cases impartially under the law and evidence and has no stake in a particular outcome. Addressing the dismissal, a spokesperson said the agency evaluates judges for conduct, impartiality, legal adherence, performance and professionalism, declined to discuss personnel matters and characterized the account as allegations from a disgruntled former employee. The named supervisors and DHS did not respond to the Post's detailed questions. A September 23, 2025 EOIR memorandum states that no leadership official may direct an immigration judge to decide a case a particular way. That published rule supplies important context but does not independently prove or disprove the alleged private instructions. Donoso Stevens has appealed her dismissal and declined to speculate publicly about its motive; no decision on that appeal was identified.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Oct 25, 2026 · 8:58 AM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-25. The Washington Post published its investigation at 6:00 a.m. EDT on October 25. The alleged direction to reverse four bond rulings occurred in September 2025; Donoso Stevens says she was removed from detained cases on January 14, 2026, and fired on May 21, 2026. The Ledger reviewed the Post investigation, EOIR's September 23, 2025 independence memorandum and the White House's April 9, 2026 immigration-court statement at 8:58 a.m. EDT on October 25. The historical alleged events, source publication and Ledger review are separately dated.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- The Washington Post, John Woodrow Cox: Trump's DOJ told a judge how to rule. Then it pulled her from court. ↗
October 25 investigation based on Donoso Stevens's firsthand account, contemporaneous notes, colleague and attorney interviews, DOJ and EOIR responses, and analysis of agency data
- U.S. Department of Justice, Executive Office for Immigration Review: Policy Memorandum 25-51: Withdrawal of May 30, 2025 Email ↗
Primary September 23, 2025 memorandum stating that no EOIR leadership official may direct an immigration judge to decide a case in a particular way; policy context, not proof of whether the reported private directions occurred
- The White House: Era of Amnesty Is Over: President Trump Restores Rule of Law to Immigration Courts ↗
Primary April 9 administration statement defending the replacement of judges it called activists and emphasizing faster case completion and lower asylum-grant rates; advocacy context rather than an adjudication of Donoso Stevens's account
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