Trump Fires 17 Immigration Judges Amid Deportation Push \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Seventeen immigration judges were abruptly fired as Trump escalates deportation efforts. The union representing judges says the firings are unjustified and harmful to public interest. Despite a massive backlog, the DOJ continues removing judges while promising to expand courts.
Quick Looks
- Seventeen immigration judges fired in recent days without explanation.
- Judges worked in courts across 10 states including California, Texas, and New York.
- Firings coincide with Trump’s aggressive deportation strategy and ICE courthouse arrests.
- Union says over 100 judges have left since Trump’s second term began.
- DOJ plans to raise immigration judge count to 800 amid a 3.5M case backlog.
- Immigration court firings expected to worsen delays, union warns.
- $3.3B allocated to immigration courts as part of $170B enforcement package.
- Trump administration silent on reasons for terminating judges.
- ICE arrests of immigrants leaving courtrooms intensify fear among asylum seekers.
- Union: Hiring and training judges takes a year, worsening delays.
Deep Look
The Trump administration has ignited a new political and legal firestorm by abruptly firing 17 immigration court judges in what critics are calling a deliberate attempt to reshape the judicial arm of America’s immigration system amid a broader push to accelerate mass deportations.
The firings, confirmed by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE)—the union representing immigration court judges—were carried out in two waves: 15 judges were dismissed last Friday, and two more were fired on Monday. The union says the judges were removed “without cause” and that they served in courts across 10 states, including major immigration hubs like California, Texas, New York, and Illinois.
“This is not only outrageous, it’s counterproductive and damaging to the public interest,” said Matt Biggs, president of IFPTE. “Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges to ease the court backlog. Instead, we’re losing experienced judges for no stated reason. It’s nonsensical.”
The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), the division of the Department of Justice that oversees immigration courts, has refused to comment on the dismissals. The silence has only intensified speculation about political motives behind the purge, especially as the administration attempts to fast-track removal proceedings and remake the courts in its own ideological image.
Deportation Machine in Overdrive
The firings come at a time when immigration courts are at the center of a sweeping federal crackdown. In recent months, the Trump administration has deployed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to wait outside courtrooms, arresting immigrants as soon as their cases are dismissed or rescheduled. According to advocacy groups, these tactics have instilled fear in undocumented immigrants and asylum-seekers, some of whom are now skipping court hearings altogether out of fear of arrest and deportation.
In many cases, judges have dismissed proceedings at the request of government attorneys, only for ICE agents to be positioned just outside the courtroom. The moment the immigrant exits, they are taken into custody and placed on an expedited removal track. These aggressive tactics have prompted legal challenges and renewed questions about due process rights in immigration proceedings.
Immigration courts are not part of the independent judiciary but fall under the Justice Department’s executive branch, meaning the Attorney General has broad authority to hire and fire judges, as well as set precedent through administrative rulings. Critics say that structure has left the courts vulnerable to political manipulation, especially during times of executive overreach.
Backlog Crisis Worsens
At the same time, the court system is grappling with a historic caseload. According to the union and multiple independent reports, there are currently over 3.5 million cases pending in immigration courts—a number that has exploded over the past five years. This backlog has stretched proceedings to the breaking point, with final hearings frequently scheduled over a year in advance.
In response, Congress recently passed a sweeping $170 billion immigration enforcement package, including $3.3 billion earmarked for immigration courts. That money is intended to support the hiring of 800 judges, up from the current estimated total of about 600. However, immigration law experts and the union warn that these newly allocated resources will be ineffective if experienced judges are being dismissed at the same time.
“The administration is saying, ‘We’re fixing the courts,’ but what they’re actually doing is gutting the very system they claim to be strengthening,” said Biggs. “Hiring and training an immigration judge can take up to a year. These firings make the backlog worse, not better.”
More Than 100 Judges Gone Since Trump’s Return
The IFPTE says that since President Trump began his second term, more than 100 immigration judges have either been fired or resigned, many through what insiders have dubbed “Fork in the Road” offers—early retirement or resign-or-be-fired ultimatums extended by the DOJ. Legal observers note that many of the dismissed judges had reputations for fairness or flexibility, particularly in asylum cases.
Trump’s first term was marked by a sharp rightward shift in immigration court rulings, fueled by the appointment of hundreds of judges who had previously worked as prosecutors, ICE lawyers, or immigration hardliners. In his second term, critics say, the administration appears intent not just on appointing allies, but on purging dissenters from within the court system.
“This is an effort to consolidate judicial power within the executive branch for the purpose of pushing through mass deportations with fewer procedural hurdles,” said Dr. Leticia Rojas, a professor of immigration law at UCLA. “We’ve never seen this level of politicization of the immigration courts before.”
Impact on Due Process and Legal Representation
The immigration court system already places immigrants at a severe disadvantage. Unlike criminal courts, immigration courts are civil in nature, meaning that immigrants are not entitled to a court-appointed attorney. Many must navigate the complex and often arcane immigration code on their own, sometimes through interpreters, and frequently while in detention.
Legal service providers say the recent firings are already affecting case continuity. “Some of our clients have had their hearings postponed or reassigned to new judges, many of whom haven’t even been hired yet,” said Maria Vargas, a legal director at an immigration nonprofit in Texas. “This is leading to longer delays and higher risks of deportation due to procedural confusion.”
In some courtrooms, immigrants have already had to wait years for a hearing, only to find their judge has been removed and their case rescheduled indefinitely.
A Political Flashpoint
While immigration has always been a contentious political issue, the Trump administration’s approach in 2025 has been especially aggressive. The mass firings of judges, combined with high-profile ICE raids and ongoing courthouse arrests, signal a strategy focused not just on border enforcement but on domestic removal at scale.
Civil rights groups are already preparing legal challenges to the dismissals. Some argue that firing immigration judges without stated cause or process violates employment protections and undermines judicial independence, even under an executive court model.
Meanwhile, the White House has framed the judge removals as part of a broader campaign to restore “order and consistency” to the immigration system.
“Our immigration system was in disarray due to years of activist judges making up law,” said a senior Trump administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “We are committed to putting lawful adjudicators in place who will interpret immigration statutes as written.”
What Comes Next
For now, the immigration courts are operating in a state of uncertainty. Hundreds of thousands of cases are still pending, and new judges have yet to be hired and trained. The $3.3 billion infusion may help long-term, but in the short term, the firings have created even more instability.
The IFPTE is calling on Congress to conduct oversight hearings and to explore legislative reforms that would remove immigration courts from the DOJ’s control, possibly by creating an independent Article I immigration court system, akin to tax or bankruptcy courts.
“We cannot have a fair immigration system if judges can be fired at the whim of politicians,” said Biggs.
For the immigrants facing deportation, the stakes remain life-altering—and now, the courtroom that once offered hope of relief may be undergoing the biggest transformation in decades.
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