Former immigration judge Brea Burgie shifts to asylum advocacy and legal consulting

Brea Burgie, a former Denver immigration judge and founder of Bench to Bar, LLC, is moving from the bench to advocacy work for asylum seekers and the attorneys who represent them. Her next phase includes federal appeals work and a planned consulting practice built on more than a decade in immigration law.

Why it matters: - Brea Burgie’s career spans immigration judging, asylum work, fraud referrals and legal consulting, giving her a rare view of how immigration cases move through the system. - Her shift back to advocacy comes as immigration courts remain under pressure from politicization, judge firings and questions about fairness for asylum seekers. - Burgie now aims to use bench-level experience to help vulnerable clients and strengthen the cases attorneys bring on their behalf.

What happened: - Burgie recently concluded seven years as an immigration judge in Denver. - She is the founder of Bench to Bar, LLC. - She worked in immigration law for more than a decade before and during her time on the bench. - Her career began in social work, supporting survivors in domestic violence shelters. - That work led her to law school at the University of Denver. - She previously studied sociology and history, with a minor in Spanish, at the University of Northern Colorado. - After graduating from law school in 2007, she clerked, led a nonprofit organization and served as an attorney advisor at the Phoenix Immigration Court. - She later spent eight years in the general counsel’s office at immigration court headquarters. - She also served as fraud counsel and referred fraud cases for prosecution. - Before becoming a judge, she briefly left government service to build a legal program for the International Rescue Committee in Denver serving survivors of torture.

The details: - Burgie’s expertise includes immigration law and adjudication, asylum case representation, identifying immigration fraud and referring cases for prosecution, and consulting for immigration attorneys on case presentation. - Her early work with domestic violence survivors showed her how attorneys could help people, and she later used law as a tool for social change. - She said that sense of purpose carried her from nonprofit work into the judiciary, where she believed she could have a greater impact. - Burgie described the bench as emotionally demanding because of deportation rulings and professionally isolating because judicial ethics limit outside connection. - Her judicial tenure ended when she was among roughly 150 immigration judges dismissed by the Trump administration. - Burgie considers the dismissal politically motivated and unlawful and plans to contest it formally. - She is now representing asylum seekers, supporting immigration attorneys and pursuing federal appeals for clients seeking fairer hearings. - She is also preparing to launch a consulting practice for immigration attorneys.

Between the lines: - Burgie’s path from shelter work to the immigration bench to post-bench advocacy gives her a perspective that combines frontline client work with judicial decision-making. - That background may make her especially useful to lawyers who need guidance on how cases read from a judge’s point of view. - Her comments also point to a broader tension in immigration law between legal process and political control. - She argues that fairness in asylum cases depends not only on statutes and evidence, but also on how judges, agencies and appellate courts apply them.

What’s next: - Burgie plans to keep representing asylum seekers and working on federal appeals. - She intends to formalize a consulting practice focused on helping immigration attorneys build stronger cases. - She also plans to deepen her involvement with a Colorado asylum organization. - Her advice to younger women in the field is to seek varied experience and build strong professional networks. - She also urges lawyers to value relationships with colleagues and mentors, which can shape career opportunities.

The bottom line: - Burgie is turning a long immigration court career into a second act focused on advocacy, appellate work and attorney coaching.