Local judge to take position with Trump administration

Minisink Town Justice Karen Ostberg has been appointed to a position within the incoming Trump administration, thereby ending her candidacy for Orange County Court judge, according to a recent press release from her campaign.

In her new role within the U.S. State Department as a Hague Convention attorney with the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ostberg will work with families and parents throughout the world whose children have been abducted from their home country.

“I am honored to be selected as a Hague Convention attorney and for even greater opportunities that lie ahead to serve our country,” she said in the press release. “The new administration has made it clear that immigration and human trafficking will be a top priority when President-elect Trump takes office. With my experience as a prosecutor, as well as in family and immigration law at the state and federal levels, I am excited to join the Trump administration’s critical efforts to return kidnapped children to their own countries and reunite them with their families. I am eager to work with consulates worldwide, at a time when our nation faces the most challenging immigration issues.”

According to her website, Ostberg has practiced law for 38 years. She is licensed in New York, New Jersey, Texas, and the District of Columbia, representing clients and businesses in federal and state courts.

Multiple requests for comment were unsuccessful as of deadline.