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Judge David Paruch and Oakland Co. Executive David Coulter (Facebook p
Detroit immigration court Judge David Paruch was on the bench for more than 10 years when his dying wife told him in 2023 to keep doing the job he loved.
He had no problem doing the job with integrity during President Trump’s first term. But the second one was a whole different story, he tells Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press.
“I had perceived that the mindset of the people in Washington was no longer due process and respect for the parties, but just grind it out and deport them,” Paruch said during a recent interview. “I said, ‘I just don’t agree with that.’”
Agency leaders changed in the second term, and the message was to aggressively deport people.
“The information coming down, the orders and the tone from Washington were to disrespect the parties and to not respect due process — to look at the court as a deportation machine rather than a place where due process would be accorded,” Paruch told the Freep.
By last fall, at age 77 and approaching 78, he decided to leave. He had some health issues, but he tells the Freep it was the push to change the approach and integrity of the job that played a large part in his decision to go.
In early January, Oakland County Executive David Coulter posted this on Facebook:
After 50 years of distinguished service, David Paruch is officially hanging up the robe! From his 1975 graduation at the University of Michigan Law School to his 2010 appointment to the Detroit Immigration Court by the United States Department of Justice, David has spent five decades upholding the integrity of our justice system.
But his impact goes far beyond the courtroom. Whether through his leadership in the American Immigration Lawyers Association or his generous support for Metro Detroit Youth Clubs and the Lourdes Senior Community, David has truly modeled what it means to be a ‘servant leader.’
I presented my friend with a proclamation celebrating his retirement and a half-century of excellence.”
