Pallone’s ex-Tea Party opponent promoted by Biden

A New Jersey Tea Party favorite who was appointed as a U.S. Immigration Court Judge by the Trump Administration has now been promoted by the Biden administration.

Anna Little, a former Monmouth freeholder who took on Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-Long Branch) in a competitive 2010 election, was named to the immigration judgeship in 2019.

Press play to hear a narrated version of this story, presented by AudioHopper.

The Department of Justice announced in April that Little was elevated to Assistant Chief Immigration Judge.

Little was hired for the post by the U.S. Department of Justice and was sworn in on Friday as one of nearly 400 immigration judges in the U.S. who can grant citizenship and permanent resident status and also hear removal proceedings for immigrants and their families.

She has been assigned to the San Francisco Immigration Court.

Most of the top Trump appointees from New Jersey lost their jobs earlier this year, including former Rep. Scott Garrett (R-Wantage), who no longer has his $215,001-a-year job with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Former Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande (R-Colts Neck) was removed as Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State for Academic Programs.

Also out: former Morris County Freeholder Christine Myers, who served as a regional advocate for the U.S. Small Business Administration; and former Point Pleasant Council President Michael Thulen, who served as New Jersey State Rural Development Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The 53-year-old Little had an immigration law practice in New Jersey and is fluent in Spanish and other languages.

Little has served on the Highlands borough council from 2002 to 2006, when she won a special election convention for Monmouth County freeholder after Amy Handlin resigned to join the State Assembly.  She was elected mayor of Highlands in 2007.

In 2010, Little sought the Republican nomination for Congress in New Jersey’s 6th district in a contested primary with organization choice Diane Gooch, a local newspaper publisher who was prepared to self-fund a race against Pallone.

Little beat Gooch by 83 votes, a 50.3%-49.7% margin.

A September Monmouth University poll showed Pallone with a 12-point lead, but by October, the Monmouth Poll showed a 52%-45% race with Pallone leading by just 7 points.  The poll gave Little a seven-point lead in the Monmouth County portion of the district, with Pallone by 21 points in Middlesex.

Pallone defeated Little by 16,520 votes, 55%-44%.

In a 2012 rematch, Pallone swamped Little, winning by 67,422 votes (63%-35%).