San Francisco immigration judge bursts into tears as she is fired mid-hearing

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A California immigration judge wept after being abruptly fired mid-asylum hearing, making her the latest victim of the Trump administration's deportation crackdown.

Shuting Chen, 41, of San Francisco, was halfway through a hearing on Friday for three Venezuelan siblings who had fled persecution and waited years for their day in court when an email labeled 'Notice of Termination' flashed onto her screen.

'I had a very emotional reaction,' Chen, who was appointed under the Biden administration in 2022, told NBC Bay Area News.

'I started to cry in my courtroom in front of the parties, which I always tried not to do, despite the traumatic nature of our jobs.'

In tears, Chen told the attorneys, interpreter and asylum-seekers that she had been axed from her post and could not finish the case, according to San Francisco Chronicle.

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'I'm an immigrant myself and I never took my role as a judge for granted,' Chen told the outlet. 'I don't just mourn the loss of a job but also the disintegration of a system.'

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