Sarah Ellison Hernandez Sounds the Alarm
There aren't any metaphysical guardrails that are going to protect America. The guardrails are us, so it is dependent upon us to say, "No. This is not okay."
Sarah Ellison Hernandez's dream was to become a judge. In 2018, Sarah's dream was realized when she was appointed as an immigration judge during the first Trump administration. This was the highlight of her career. She remembers excitedly calling her mom with the news. To this day, the memories of her swearing-in ceremony make her emotional because of the weight and importance of her oath. Sarah thought this would be her forever job—her retirement job.
Normally, a new presidential administration will cause a few changes to immigration courts, but those are just adjustments in priorities and don't spark concern that changes would be outside the confines of the law. Beginning in January, Sarah saw what she calls "bread crumbs" of the administration trying to go somewhere with the immigration law and policy, but she wasn't sure where things were headed. Sarah was concerned by the barrage of highly charged and "spicy" policy memos being released daily. These memos were intentionally worded, and Sarah realized they were laying the groundwork to fire employees for any minor infraction.
Sarah became increasingly concerned when she learned the US State Department's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices were changing and would no longer include information about persecution of women, individuals with disabilities, or LGBTQ+ individuals. The reports also removed or reduced coverage of issues such as fair trials, political freedom, corruption, and more. Immigration judges relied heavily on these annual reports when adjudicating asylum claims for protection from persecution or torture, and Sarah recalled a time when she relied on the reports to grant a claim for a woman who had escaped an honor killing in India. The change in these reports was one of the first moments that Sarah saw the administration taking away protections for everyone.
Every day in 2025 was something new for Sarah, and things were only getting worse. The DOJ's Executive Office of Immigration Review was instructing immigration judges to pretermit or deny applications on their face without a full hearing. Cases were to be dismissed, and individuals were to be placed in expedited removal. All of these instructions made Sarah squeamish.
The breaking point for Sarah was the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. An immigration judge had already issued an Order of Withholding Removal to prevent Abrego Garcia from being sent back to El Salvador. The administration lied about the circumstances surrounding Abrego Garcia's deportation in intentional defiance of the law and court order. Sarah's gut was telling her "Danger! Danger! Danger!"
Sarah worried about DOJ taking advantage of how immigration courts are set up. With immigration courts being administrative courts and part of the DOJ, the Attorney General can pull a case and issue a ruling which then becomes binding case law. The Board of Immigration Appeals reports to the Attorney General, who reports to the President. The AG can control what immigration courts do, and the AG is currently pushing the bounds of what is constitutionally allowable. Sarah wondered at what point she would be asked or instructed to do something illegal.
When the second Deferred Resignation Program offer came around, Sarah knew she had to take it. She could no longer keep her head down and hope for the best. She saw the administration lie and intentionally defy court orders. Sarah refused to be a part of that.
Since leaving her dream job, Sarah has opened her own private practice, Ellison Hernandez, PLLC, in Midlothian, Texas, providing consultation services and litigation support for other attorneys and law firms. Sarah is using her 15 years of state, federal, and immigration court experience to give insight and assist other attorneys and law firms in advocating for their clients. She is licensed to practice law in Texas and supports clients nationwide via her virtual platform.
Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn.
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Sarah offers consulting services and litigation support for other attorneys and firms.
Read about the Trump administration's illegal use of the Alien Enemies Act.
ABC News
Learn more about the Abrego Garcia case.
Learn about the role of immigration courts in the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
