The spouse of the judge appointed by President Biden, who recently ruled that federal immigration agents are required to secure individual arrest warrants for all suspected undocumented immigrants prior to their detention, has a financial stake in opposing President Donald Trump’s mass deportation initiatives, as indicated by a recent report.

Independent journalist Laura Loomer detailed in an extensive post on X that the spouse of U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston, who recently decided that the Trump administration cannot detain more undocumented immigrants without a warrant, is a broker in California’s multifamily real estate sector. She noted that Marc A. Thurston primarily serves the ‘illegal alien and immigrant community’ and has expressed criticism on Instagram regarding Trump’s mass deportation and immigration strategies, arguing that they negatively impact multifamily real estate brokers and investors.

This represents a significant conflict of interest that raises questions regarding Judge Thurston’s issuance of a preliminary injunction on April 29, 2025, which prohibits the US Border Patrol from performing warrantless immigration stops across a large area of California, as stated by Loomer.

This injunction is applicable to Kern County, California, which encompasses Bakersfield, CA, where the spouse of Judge Thurston operates as a multi-family real estate broker, as she indicated, adding further:

Marc A. Thurston, the husband of Judge Thurston and Senior Vice President at ASU Commercial, is an expert in the multifamily real estate sector of Bakersfield. In exclusive video footage acquired by @LoomerUnleashed and @CcpSkipTracer, Marc Thurston expressed on his Instagram account through several videos recorded this year following President Trump’s inauguration that the deportation of ‘undocumented immigrants’ would negatively impact the local rental market in Bakersfield, thereby affecting his business. He noted that his operations are influenced by immigration enforcement outcomes, as over 15,000 individuals he refers to as ‘undocumented workers’ are employed in California’s Central Valley, with many residing in multifamily housing in the same area where Marc and his wife, Judge Jennifer Thurston, live.

Judge Jennifer L. Thurston ought to have disqualified herself from the case involving the Trump administration because of potential bias and personal financial interests arising from her decision, which favors her husband’s business.

In accordance with the guidelines set forth in the ‘Federal Judiciary and Judicial Procedure,’ all US Federal Judges must recuse themselves from a case if they identify a conflict with any of the rules outlined below:

According to 28 U.S.C. § 455(a), a judge must recuse themselves if a reasonable individual, aware of all relevant facts, could reasonably doubt the judge’s impartiality.

Furthermore, 28 U.S.C. § 455(b)(4) stipulates that recusal is necessary if the judge’s spouse possesses a financial interest that may be significantly influenced by the outcome of the case.

Additionally, Loomer shared video segments featuring Marc Thurston addressing the matter and cautioning landlords about potential high vacancy rates in the near future.

In a later update, Loomer noted that Marc Thurston had removed the video clips from his social media accounts.

It is important to highlight that Judge Thurston’s ruling is applicable solely to federal immigration agents functioning within her jurisdiction, as reported by Newsweek. Judge Thurston has restricted the powers of U.S.

Border Patrol agents in her area, forbidding them from detaining individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants without a warrant, unless there is a belief that the individual may evade capture before a warrant can be obtained.

Furthermore, she determined that Border Patrol agents must possess reasonable suspicion prior to stopping individuals and cannot coerce them into ‘voluntary departure’ without first informing them of their rights and obtaining their free consent.

This ruling follows a January immigration enforcement initiative referred to as ‘Operation Return to Sender,’ during which numerous individuals, many of whom were farmworkers or day laborers, were apprehended, as noted by Newsweek.

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit regarding this operation, alleging that Border Patrol agents infringed upon the Constitution by detaining individuals who ‘appeared to be farmworkers or day laborers, irrespective of their actual immigration status or individual circumstances.