Trump administration fires 17 immigration court judges across ten
states, union says
[July 16, 2025]
By REBECCA SANTANA
WASHINGTON (AP) — Seventeen immigration court judges have been fired in
recent days, according to the union that represents them, as the Trump
administration pushes forward with its mass deportations of immigrants
in the country.
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers,
which represents immigration court judges as well as other
professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired “without
cause” on Friday and another two on Monday. The union said they were
working in courts in 10 different states across the country —
California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York,
Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
“It’s outrageous and against the public interest that at the same time
Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large
numbers of immigration judges without cause,” said the union's President
Matt Biggs. "This is nonsensical. The answer is to stop firing and start
hiring.”
Firings come with courts at the center of administration efforts
The firings come as the courts have been increasingly at the center of
the Trump administration's hardline immigration enforcement efforts with
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting immigrants as
they appear at court for proceedings.
A spokeswoman for the Executive Office of Immigration Review, which is
the part of the Justice Department that oversees the courts, said in an
email that the office would not comment on the firings.
The large-scale arrests began in May and have unleashed fear among
asylum-seekers and immigrants appearing in court. In what has become a
familiar scene, a judge will grant a government lawyer’s request to
dismiss deportation proceedings against an immigrant. Meanwhile, U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are waiting in the hallway
to arrest the person and put them on a fast track to deportation as soon
as he or she leaves the courtroom.
Immigration court judges are also dealing with a massive backlog of
roughly 3.5 million cases that ballooned in recent years. Cases can take
years to weave their way to a final determination, with judges and
lawyers frequently scheduling final hearings on the merits of a case
over a year out. Unlike criminal courts, the government isn't required
to provide lawyers to everyone going through immigration courts;
immigrants can hire their own lawyer but if they can't afford one they
represent themselves — often using an interpreter to make their case.
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A family from Colombia is detained and escorted to a bus by federal
agents following an appearance at immigration court Monday, July 14,
2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Senator alleges one firing is punishment
Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois alleged that one of the
judges fired was essentially being punished for talking to him
during a visit the senator made a few weeks ago to the Chicago
Immigration Court.
In a news release Tuesday, Durbin said the judge “took time to show
me the court and explain its functions.” He said after the visit,
the judge received an email from the Justice Department telling her
that all communications with congressional offices should be routed
through headquarters and that immigration judges shouldn't be
talking directly with members of Congress.
“Her abrupt termination is an abuse of power by the Administration
to punish a non-political judge simply for doing her job,” said
Durbin, who's the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Courts are getting a cash infusion
Under recently passed legislation that will use $170 billion to
supercharge immigration enforcement, the courts are set to get an
infusion of $3.3 billion. That will go toward raising the number of
judges to 800 and hiring more staff to support them.
But the union said that since the Trump administration took office
over 103 judges have either been fired or voluntarily left after
taking what was dubbed the “Fork in the Road” offers at the
beginning of the administration. The union said that rather than
speeding up the immigration court process, the Justice Department's
firings would actually make the backlogs worse. The union said that
it can take as long as a year to recruit, hire and train new
immigration court judges.
There are currently about 600 judges, according to the union
figures. Immigration courts fall under the Justice Department.
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