Assma Ali’s Mississippi Judge Appointment Draws Scrutiny Over Immigration Work and Ghalib Defense

Adriana Stone 0 2 min read

Assma Ali’s Mississippi Judge Appointment Draws Scrutiny Over Immigration Work and Ghalib Defense

A municipal judge appointment in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is drawing pushback from conservatives who want more answers about the nominee’s background and public associations.

Immigration attorney Assma A. Ali announced that she had been selected to serve as a municipal court judge. Supporters celebrated the move as a first-of-its-kind appointment for a Yemeni-American Muslim woman who wears a hijab.

Amy Mek, founder and editor-in-chief of RAIR Foundation, brought the appointment into the national spotlight. Mek argued that Republican officials in a deep-red state had surrendered what she called a “final firewall.” She also questioned Ali’s immigration work and political connections.

Mek wrote on X: “Red State Mississippi just appointed America’s first Yemeni Sharia-hijabi judge.”

Her criticism focused partly on Ali’s law practice. Ali & Associates advertises services involving deportation defense, asylum cases, cancellation of removal, citizenship and naturalization, adjustment of status, DACA, U-visas, and other forms of relief available under federal immigration law. Her biography says she represents both detained and non-detained clients before immigration courts, USCIS, and ICE.

Those services are legal immigration matters, but Mek portrayed Ali’s work as helping people who entered the country illegally or overstayed visas find pathways to citizenship. That framing has become a central part of the controversy surrounding the appointment.

The report also highlights Ali’s past support for Amer Ghalib, the former mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan. Ghalib’s nomination to become U.S. ambassador to Kuwait collapsed in the Senate in October 2025 after bipartisan opposition over his record.

Ali attended the Senate hearing in support of Ghalib. On October 23, 2025, she published a defense of him, calling criticism of his record “misleading and unethical.” She praised his “integrity, honesty, and composure,” described him as “deeply committed to serving this nation with honor,” and said she was “even more confident” he would be confirmed.

The source report says senators from both parties raised concerns about allegations involving Ghalib. Those allegations included calling Saddam Hussein a “martyr,” endorsing comments comparing Jews to “monkeys,” praising the Muslim Brotherhood as “inspirational,” claiming he filled out ballot cards for other voters, sharing a meme targeting Black Americans, and using derogatory language about Christians.

The Senate ultimately returned the nomination to the White House without action. Mek’s criticism is that Ali publicly stood behind Ghalib during that fight and is now moving onto a municipal bench where she will interpret and apply American law.

Mek also pointed to Ali’s alleged support for Democratic Socialists of America operative Zohran Mamdani and her role in securing an “Arab American Heritage Month” proclamation from Republican Governor Tate Reeves.

Here is the X post that drove much of the online debate:

Mek later claimed that Ali removed her Facebook defense of Ghalib after RAIR Foundation USA published its report. That deletion claim, as well as the reason for any removal, has not been independently established.

The appointment now faces a basic question that Mississippi conservatives are demanding officials answer: What review was conducted before Ali was selected, and did decision-makers fully consider her public record?

Ali’s appointment has been celebrated by supporters as historic. Critics, however, say the controversy is not about her religion or clothing. They argue it is about her professional work, her political associations, and her public defense of a failed ambassadorial nominee.

Mek’s follow-up post is available here:

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