Judge Marlene Gonzalez No Longer Belongs on the Bench

Fictional Image Not Meant to
depict any actual person.

Well damn. When the Catholic Diocese of El Paso - yes, that Diocese, the one whose whole brand is forgiveness, patience, and eternal salvation - has to go to court and say, “Nah, this judge needs to step aside,” you know something is deeply, spiritually, judicially wrong.

And just so we’re clear: this is now the second time I warned this community about a judge.

And just like last time, people rolled their eyes, clutched their pearls, whispered “why is he being so divisive,” and waited for the facts to magically disappear.

Spoiler alert:

The facts did not disappear. Turns out I was right, again.

Yesterday’s reporting confirms something I wrote last week - that El Paso District Judge Marlene Gonzalez is facing recusal efforts because of how she treats the most vulnerable people imaginable: unaccompanied immigrant children. 

Children. 

Alone. 

Facing a system they don’t understand, in a language they may not speak, carrying trauma that would buckle most adults.

And the courtroom - the place that is supposed to be the last refuge of fairness - has allegedly become a place where the rule of law goes to die quietly.

Let me put this in El Paso terms:

If the Catholic Church says, “This has gone too far,” you didn’t just cross a line - you hopped the fence, ignored the warning signs, and kept sprinting.

This isn’t some fringe activist group filing a dramatic motion for clout. This is Estrella del Paso, a ministry of the Diocese that has been doing immigrant legal work since 1986. These folks don’t wake up and choose chaos. They chose escalation because everything else failed.

That should scare everyone.

The day before yesterday, while this news was breaking, I was downtown protesting ICE with others - because a federal agent in Minneapolis killed a woman during a so-called enforcement operation. Nationwide outrage. Demands for accountability. And right here at home, three people have died in the Camp East Montana detention facility in a matter of weeks.

Let that sink in.

Three deaths.

Weeks.

Same city.

But sure - tell me again how everything is fine and how questioning power is “too much.”

And I’m going to say the uncomfortable part out loud. A lot of you that might know who she is are probably thinking, “no mammes, she can barely speak English herself, how can this be true?” Well think about how many Mario Lopez mother fuckers do you know out there that are brown Trump supporters? Way more than we’d like to admit (although not as many as there used to be after all this ICE raids shit). I think there is a disconnect with her because off a couple of factors but the biggest one is her husband is retired border patrol, so I’m sure that plays a role.

Let’s also be clear about something else that makes people uncomfortable:

This judge is a Democrat.

And as a Democrat - and an activist - I am not obligated to play defense when someone from my own party does things that would make Trump supporters high-five each other.

She's accused of being cruel to children that are unaccompanied minors. They have already been through hell. 

There is nothing “tough” about cruelty.

There is nothing “strong” about humiliating traumatized children.

And there is nothing “law-and-order” about a courtroom that treats immigrant kids like political props instead of human beings.

That’s not justice. That’s cosplay authoritarianism.

Immigrant children are not case numbers.

They are not talking points.

They are not inconveniences to be scolded for surviving.

They deserve due process, dignity, and protection - not hostile judges, detention cages, and federal agents operating with a license to kill and zero accountability.

Courts are supposed to be sanctuaries of justice, not audition stages for who can be the most punitive while hiding behind a robe.

This isn’t a policy disagreement.

This isn’t left vs. right.

This is a moral crisis.

And when the Catholic Diocese of El Paso - of all institutions - has to step in and say, “Enough,” the rest of us should stop pretending this is normal.

So yeah. I warned you. Again.

And again, the facts caught up.

Stand up.

Speak out.

Demand accountability - even when it’s uncomfortable.

Because justice doesn’t care what party you belong to.

And neither should we.

Judge Marlene Gonzalez no longer belongs on the bench. Its time for her to go. She needs to be removed from the bench.