A former immigration judge has been fined and temporarily banned from federal service for violating the Hatch Act by promoting Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida Hillicon Valley: Productivity, fatigue, cybersecurity emerge as top concerns amid pandemic | Facebook critics launch alternative oversight board | Google to temporarily bar election ads after polls close Trump pledges to make Juneteenth a federal holiday, designate KKK a terrorist group in pitch to Black voters MORE's proposed immigration platform during a 2016 deportation hearing, the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced.

Carmene DePaolo, who was employed by the Department of Justice but has since retired, was fined the maximum civil penalty of $1,000 and faces a 30-month debarment, officials said on Tuesday, adding that an administrative law judge imposed the penalties on behalf of the Merit Systems Protection Board for Hatch Act violations.

Under the Hatch Act, federal employees are prohibited from engaging in elections in their official capacity.

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During a March 2016 deportation hearing, DePaolo called the potential for a 10-year ban on a reentry for the migrant “a pretty harsh thing" that Clinton, then a Democratic presidential candidate, would change, according to the OSC.

She also said in the public hearing that Republicans “aren't going to do anything" about immigration “if they can help it," other than to “try to deport everybody," the office added.

“Respondent's actions raises the specter that this nation's courtrooms are partisan, and that judges consider political platforms when advising litigants," the administrative law judge's decision says.

"This conduct sends a bad message to subordinates, and possibly instils the notion that political activity is allowed at work. If a judge can say it from the bench, what stops other employees from making these statements in the office?"

The OSC's original complaint against DePaolo was filed in June 2018.