On Wednesday, January 21, 2026, El Paso Matters reported that District Court Judge Marlene Gonzalez faced calls for recusal from a case involving an unaccompanied migrant minor due to allegations of cruelty and bias against immigrant children. Attorneys from the immigration advocacy group Estrella del Paso requested the recusal last month.

Court transcripts revealed instances where Gonzalez questioned unaccompanied minors about abandoning their families to come to the United States. In one case, she allegedly called a Guatemalan child labor victim a liar for not having visible scars. She also reportedly challenged children describing abuse, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation, questioning why they didn’t stay in Mexico and scolding a teenage trafficking victim.

Gonzalez agreed to recuse herself on January 5, stating it was to save time and resources, but not for the reasons alleged in the recusal motion. She declined an interview request from El Paso Matters, citing the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct, but released a statement noting that recusal motions and related proceedings are public information.

Estrella del Paso also declined an interview, but stated they take their legal and ethical duties seriously and that the motion filed included detailed examples compiled with care. The recusal request is one of several over the past few years, raising concerns about bias and unprofessional conduct in Gonzalez’s courtroom.

Gonzalez, 71, a Democrat and former Border Patrol agent’s wife, has been a judge of the 388th Judicial District Court since 2020, presiding over family law issues. Reelected in 2024, she defeated attorney Joy Degenhart, who accused Gonzalez of being biased and unprofessional, leading to calls for her recusal.

Degenhart, who plans to run again in 2028, stated that recusal cases often cause delays and backlogs in El Paso family courts, with substitute judges’ costs borne by taxpayers. She added that recusal requests extend beyond unaccompanied minor cases to divorce and protective order applications, impacting clients’ ability to obtain a fair hearing.

 

 

Source: El Paso Matters