"Fired by Trump, this immigration judge set off on the migrant trail," says USA TODAY. Good for him. He's probably happier in the highlands of Guatemala, bringing flowers as part of his "unusual, if poetic, mission" to visit the relatives of a family who won asylum in his courtroom. In fact, if you managed to get assigned to his courtroom, chances were very, very good that you would win asylum. As puff pieces go, this is one of the puffiest we've seen.
Five months after he was fired as a U.S. immigration judge, Jeremiah Johnson found himself rumbling into the highlands of Guatemala on a crowded bus, a bouquet of flowers in hand.
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) April 20, 2026
His unusual, if poetic, mission: to visit relatives of an indigenous family who fled their village… pic.twitter.com/CzOz4IgFlN
The post continues:
… for the United States and won asylum in his courtroom.
Johnson, 52, served nearly a decade as an immigration judge in San Francisco, in a famously liberal circuit, hearing hundreds of asylum cases. Day in, day out, he heard stories of political and religious persecution, torture, violence, rape. He granted asylum 89% of the time.
That statistic, he believes, is likely one of the reasons the Trump administration targeted him and the San Francisco court in an effort to rid the system of alleged bias in favor of immigrants, and against the Department of Homeland Security.
He granted asylum 89 percent of the time in his famously liberal circuit? Lauren Villagran writes, almost poetically:
Since Trump took office in January 2025, the DOJ has fired at least 107 immigration judges, including roughly two dozen in San Francisco alone, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges, a union for the judges. Nationwide, another 50 or so have left or been dismissed.
"Under President Trump, asylum is now granted in just 7% of cases," the White House said in an April 9 news release, citing an investigation by the New York Times. The release touted: "The era of amnesty is over."
That statistic likely includes not only judges' decisions but abandoned cases in which the applicant failed to appear, according to the right-leaning Center for Immigration Studies. In President Joe Biden's last year, the comparable asylum grant rate including abandoned cases was 36%.
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Yeah, we still need to get that number down. The statistic likely includes illegal aliens who filed fake asylum claims and then failed to show for their immigration hearings. Shame.
I really can’t decide who I hate more here— the judge who subverted our law and sovereignty for his entire career by granting fake asylum claims, the journalist who treats him like a hero, or the Democrats, who want to pass laws to protect people like him from accountability. https://t.co/LfLkuYypSz
— Jeremy Carl (@realJeremyCarl) April 20, 2026
Ah so a fully retarded communist activist was an immigration judge.
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) April 20, 2026
For a decade.
Neat. https://t.co/dtDWTyWZ2y
So stunning and brave <loud fart noises>
— Coco's Dad (@kilshaw_81) April 20, 2026
Since legitimate asylum claims are sub five percent and probably sub one percent, the fact that this guy was granting 89 percent approvals should be a national scandal about the corruption of the rule of law— not the basis for a puff piece.
— Jeremy Carl (@realJeremyCarl) April 20, 2026
Doesn't sound like Guatemala is too dangerous if he's able to casually visit it like this. Why did they need asylum again?
— Jean-Luc Canard (@JLCanard) April 20, 2026
This is the most valuable service to his country he has rendered in his entire career.
— QTheLibertine (@QTheLibertine) April 20, 2026
"Alleged bias in favor of immigrants"
— ElectionMapsIF (@ElectionMapsIF) April 20, 2026
He's proving his bias in favor of illegals by his actions in the article
So it's safe enough for him to visit the family of the "asylum" seekers and wander around town speaking openly about them? Those people needed cops, not asylum. And no, lack of good local police isn't a sane reason for asylum.
— 𝔻𝕠𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣 𝔽𝕒𝕥𝕖 (@georg3) April 20, 2026
Thank goodness this clown was fired.
I’d laugh my ass off if they kidnapped him and held him for ransom.
— Anthony A. (@americafirst_a1) April 20, 2026
He wasn’t a judge, he was an activist masquerading as an immigration judge.
— Hunter Biden’s Life Coach (@Dave_AllRighty) April 20, 2026
He should stay in Guatemala and work to make it a better and safer country so fewer residents will need to seek asylum in the United States.
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