The Justice Department has appointed 33 new immigration judges, including 27 temporary hires, after removing or pressuring out more than 100 others as President Donald Trump’s administration builds what officials have openly branded a corps of “deportation judges.”
New Hires Follow Months Of Workforce Cuts
The Executive Office for Immigration Review told Reuters that the new judges were sworn in on Thursday, following an earlier round in October that added 36 judges, including 25 temporary ones, after months of workforce cuts. The latest group will sit in immigration courts across Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
In a statement, a Justice Department spokesperson framed the move as a course correction from the previous administration, “After four years of Biden administration hiring practices that undermined the credibility and impartiality of the immigration courts, this Department of Justice continues to restore integrity to our immigration system and is proud to welcome these talented immigration judges to join in our mission of protecting national security and public safety.”
Military Lawyers Step In As Bench Thins
Half of the newly installed permanent judges come from the military, as do all of the temporary judges, who can serve for up to six months. The Pentagon announced in September that military and civilian lawyers under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be detailed as temporary immigration judges, deepening the overlap between the armed forces and the civilian immigration system.
More than 100 of roughly 700 immigration judges have been fired or pushed out since Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which says the shake-up has thinned the bench just as arrests and deportations accelerate. Trump’s broader enforcement blueprint already faces major logistical and financial hurdles, including a years-long court bottleneck.
Backlogged Courts Face Tougher Rules On Appeals
As per Reuters, the immigration courts now face a backlog of about 3.2 million cases as of Dec. 31, according to data compiled by Mobile Pathways, a nonprofit that analyzes court records.
Under Trump, thousands of migrants who previously would have been eligible for bond have been held in mandatory detention after a Board of Immigration Appeals ruling reinterpreted a key statute, a reading that federal judges around the country have repeatedly rejected.
The administration plans to finalize a fast-track regulation that would cut the deadline to appeal an immigration judge’s decision to 10 days and make it easier for the appeals board to dismiss challenges.
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