Updated 12:50 AM GMT+5, February 16, 2025
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The Trump administration has abruptly fired 20 immigration judges, a move that has raised concerns among legal experts and immigration advocates. The dismissals, which came without explanation, are part of broader efforts to downsize the federal workforce and overhaul the immigration system, according to union representatives.
Mass Firings with No Explanation
On Friday, the government terminated the employment of 13 judges who had been appointed but had not yet been sworn in, along with five assistant chief immigration judges—a senior role responsible for court management. In the past week alone, two additional judges were fired under similar circumstances, according to Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a union that represents federal employees.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which manages the nation’s immigration courts and oversees approximately 700 judges, has not provided a reason for the firings. It also remains unclear whether these judges will be replaced, raising further questions about the future of an already overwhelmed immigration court system.
Immigration Courts Facing a Deepening Crisis
The dismissals come at a time when U.S. immigration courts are facing an unprecedented backlog. According to data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), there are currently more than 3.7 million pending cases, with asylum-seekers often waiting years before their cases are adjudicated.
Despite bipartisan support for hiring more judges to ease the backlog, previous Trump administration policies have focused on speeding up case decisions rather than increasing judicial resources. During Trump’s first term, immigration judges faced increased pressure to fast-track asylum rulings, a practice that critics said compromised due process.
Trump Administration’s Broader Reshaping of Immigration Policy
The latest firings come just weeks after the administration replaced five high-ranking officials within the EOIR, including Mary Cheng, the agency’s acting director. Sirce Owen, who previously served as an appellate immigration judge, was appointed as the new leader and has swiftly rolled back many Biden-era policies.
One of the most controversial decisions under Owen’s leadership was the Justice Department’s abrupt decision to halt financial support for nongovernmental organizations that provide legal guidance to immigrants facing deportation. The funding was reinstated only after a coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups sued the administration in federal court.
Connection to Trump’s Push for Mass Deportations and Federal Layoffs
The firings appear to align with two of Trump’s key policy objectives:
- A tougher stance on immigration enforcement and mass deportations.
- Shrinking the size of the federal workforce as part of a broader government restructuring.
Just one day before the immigration judges were dismissed, the administration ordered federal agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees—those who have not yet gained civil service protections—potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers across the government.
Probationary employees, who typically have less than a year on the job, are particularly vulnerable to termination without cause, raising speculation that the immigration judge firings may have been politically motivated to signal a hardline stance on deportations.
Union Reaction: ‘They’re Treating These People as If They’re Not Human’
Union officials have strongly condemned the mass firings. Matthew Biggs, the IFPTE president, questioned whether the decision was meant to send a message on immigration policy and described it as part of a wider effort to purge the federal workforce.
“They’re treating these people as if they’re not human beings,” Biggs said. “It’s bad all around.”
The Justice Department has yet to comment on whether these firings were tied to broader immigration policies or if more dismissals could be expected in the coming weeks.
What Comes Next?
Legal experts warn that the dismissals could further cripple an already overburdened immigration system, leading to longer wait times for asylum-seekers and immigrants in detention. If the administration does not replace the fired judges, the backlog could worsen significantly, potentially undermining Trump’s goal of swift deportations and immigration enforcement.
As concerns mount over the administration’s handling of immigration courts, attention now turns to Congress and the courts, where legal challenges to Trump’s immigration policies are expected to continue in the coming months.
This is a developing story.
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