𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗠𝗣 𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗜𝗠𝗠𝗜𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗝𝗨𝗗𝗚𝗘𝗦 𝗗𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗢𝗚 𝗢𝗙 𝟯.𝟳𝗠 𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗦

                                     article compiled from Associated Press report and NPR transcript                               

The Trump administration is moving forward with its longstanding effort to reduce the size of the federal government, extending those cuts to the already strained immigration court system. On July 18, 15 immigration judges in states including Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, and California were informed by email that they were being placed on administrative leave, with their employment officially ending on July 22. This latest round of firings has sparked criticism from immigration advocates, Democratic lawmakers, and the union representing immigration judges, who argue the dismissals are politically motivated and threaten due process.

According to NPR immigration policy reporter Ximena Bustillo, who spoke with two sources familiar with the firings on condition of anonymity, the judges who were dismissed had reached the end of their two-year probationary periods. Similar emails have been sent to at least 50 other judges over the past six months. These firings are being executed under a Trump-era initiative known as the “Fork in the Road” program, a voluntary resignation scheme designed to shrink the federal workforce. Immigration judges, unlike federal judges in the judicial branch, are considered civil servants working under the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). Over 100 judges have either been fired or encouraged to resign under this program.

Ironically, these terminations come at a time when the immigration court system is buckling under the weight of a 3.7 million case backlog. Despite the urgency to address this crisis, the administration has continued to remove experienced judges while still pushing for increased immigration enforcement. President Trump recently secured substantial immigration-related funding in the Republican-led tax and spending bill passed by Congress, which includes more than $3 billion allocated to the Department of Justice for immigration activities, funds specifically meant to hire and train more immigration judges. However, bringing new judges on board can take over a year, raising questions about the immediate impact of firing sitting judges.

In the meantime, court leadership has pressured remaining judges to accelerate case processing by measures such as streamlining asylum adjudications, despite concerns about undermining thorough judicial review. Critics warn that pushing judges to move faster while simultaneously cutting their ranks is a recipe for deepening the crisis.

Immigration advocates and Democratic officials argue that these dismissals appear ideologically driven. Earlier this month, Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of Massachusetts sent a letter to EOIR Acting Director Sirce Owen questioning an earlier round of firings and warning of more dismissals as other judges near the end of their probation. They emphasized that decisions on retaining judges should be based strictly on performance, not political loyalty to the president.

Matt Biggs, president of the union representing immigration judges, voiced strong opposition to the firings, calling them hypocritical in the context of the mounting backlog and questioning the administration’s commitment to ensuring fair hearings.

“It’s hypocritical of this president and this administration to be firing immigration judges at a time when the case backlog is 3.7 million,” Biggs told NPR. “It also begs the question, what is their intention when it comes to providing due process to immigrants in this country?”

The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review declined to comment on why it is terminating judges when Congress has just approved funding to expand the court system. As the firings proceed without clear plans for replacements, the growing caseload and questions about political interference in the immigration courts remain unresolved.