Araceli Martinez-Olguin served as managing attorney for lead plaintiff Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto
The Trump administration is pressing a California judge to recuse herself from a lawsuit over funding for a federal immigration program, saying her past work for a plaintiff in the case creates “concerning conflicts of interest that have created a serious appearance of impropriety.”
Last week, Araceli Martinez-Olguin, a federal judge in San Francisco, ordered the Trump administration to restore funding for a $769 million federal program to provide legal services to illegal immigrants. The Washington Free Beacon reported that Martinez-Olguin, a Biden appointee, previously served as a managing attorney for the lead plaintiff in the case, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA).
Martinez-Olguin also has a history of criticizing President Donald Trump over his immigration policies, and worked as an attorney for the nonprofit law firm representing many of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, the Free Beacon reported.
Citing that story, the Department of Justice called on Martinez-Olguin to recuse herself from the matter, and dissolve her ruling that the administration must continue funding the program.
“A reasonable person would likely question Judge Martínez-Olguín’s impartiality, and accordingly, recusal is required,” wrote Department of Justice attorneys.
Martinez-Olguin worked at CLSEPA from 2017 to 2018, where she founded the group’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, where she “identified issues for local or state policy advocacy and impact litigation.” At CLSEPA, Martinez-Olguin lobbied San Mateo county officials to establish a taxpayer-funded initiative to provide legal representation to illegal aliens.
CLSEPA is 1 of 11 federal subcontractors suing the Trump administration to restore funding for a program to provide legal services to minors apprehended at the border without parents. Before her judicial confirmation in 2023, Martinez-Olguin worked for the National Immigration Law Center, an immigration legal firm representing the plaintiffs in the case.
The organizations say cuts to the program will force them to fire employees and cut services to illegal immigrants.
In court filings, an attorney at CLSEPA said federal money “is one of our primary sources of funding for our immigration work,” comprising 15 percent of the organization’s budget for immigration cases. If government funding is cut, “CLSEPA will need to find another source of funding to continue representing our clients,” CLSEPA managing attorney Martha Ruch said in a court filing last month.
According to federal records, CLSEPA received $300,000 last year through the program, which is overseen by the Acacia Center for Justice, a pro-immigration nonprofit that has called to “dismantle” the immigration and deportation system.
Martinez-Olguin’s “personal knowledge” about CLSEPA’s budget and organization warrants her recusal, government attorneys said.
They also cited Martinez-Olguin’s “disdain” for Trump and his immigration policies, noting that Martinez-Olguin referred to Trump’s immigration policies during his first term as “unlawful and cruel.”
The district court in San Francisco did not return a request for comment.
