Immigration Judges Are Being Fired At Increasing Rates, Signaling An Escalation of the Trump Administration’s Immigration Crackdown
For months, President Donald Trump has been purging immigration judges across the country. The Department of Justice has fired 139 immigration judges in an unprecedented purge. Immigration attorneys are sounding the alarm about what is at stake. It appears that the Trump administration is targeting judges based on their record of granting asylum.
The Department of Justice dismissed 24 immigration judges in September
The Department of Justice has purged more than 100 immigration judges since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term. Critics say the administration is targeting the American judicial system to further hinder asylum cases progressing through the courts. Judges often spend years holding hearings before they reach a decision on an asylum case.
Officials have sent termination letters to some immigration judges in the middle of active hearings. These judges must end the cases prematurely, which adds to the growing backlog of immigration cases. The backlog of immigration cases is around 3.7 million. Firing the immigration judges leaves asylum seekers and immigrants in a perilous limbo.
“The dismissal of more immigration judges is an illogical and costly setback for the nation’s immigration courts,” IFPTE President Matt Biggs told NPR in a statement. “At a time when the backlog has reached historic levels and the administration has made immigration enforcement a central issue, the removal of experienced judges is hypocritical, undermines the law, wastes taxpayer dollars, and further delays justice for citizens and immigrants alike.”
The administration has not given most of the judges a reason for their termination. However, reports show that many of the judges had an asylum grant rate of 30 percent or higher. It is alarming immigration attorneys because critics believe the Trump administration is targeting them for not aligning with the president’s wishes.
“You cannot look at this in a vacuum,” Ashley Tabaddor, a former immigration judge told CNN. “This is part and parcel of a very, very grand scheme of creating a very frictionless deportation machine.”
The purging is not happening in the vacuum
The Department of Justice employs immigration judges, which means the administration in power controls their employment. The Department of Justice has worked to undermine the American immigration system since President Trump’s second term began. The courts have become the latest battleground for the Trump administration’s relentless assault on due process and human rights for immigrants.
Breaking from years of precedent, the Department of Justice, under Attorney General Pam Bondi, lifted the sensitive locations protections. This means that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are able to pursue immigrants at hospitals, houses of worship, schools, and courthouses.
We have seen videos of ICE agents waiting in the wings for people to leave their immigration hearings. Once in the hallway, ICE agents have swarmed and detained people going through the process “the right way.” The administration has long criticized undocumented people and claimed that those who come “the right way” are the immigrants they want. Yet, the current actions from the administration paint a starkly contrasting picture.
Adding another layer of confusion and damage, the Trump administration is filling the vacancies with unqualified National Guard and Army Reserve servicepeople. The shake-up is concerning because of the potential and expected damage that will happen to the immigration system.
A Milwaukee judge was a warning to others in the judicial system
Authorities arrested Judge Hannah Dugan of Wisconsin this summer after accusing her of shielding an undocumented person from arrest. According to prosecutors, Judge Dugan allegedly let an undocumented man leave using a jury door that was not readily accessible to the public. Prosecutors claim that she obstructed the plain-clothed federal immigration agents from arresting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz.
“We’re ready for trial. Judge Dugan did nothing wrong, and appealing this decision would just add months, years to this process,” Jason Luczak, Judge Dugan’s attorney, told the press last month. “We’ve been preparing for the trial for months. We’re ready to try the case. Judge Dugan’s ready to try the case. She wants her day in court.”
Jury selection for Judge Dugan’s federal case is set to happen on Dec. 11 and 12. Judge Dugan has maintained her innocence in the case while prosecutors are painting the career attorney and judge as an activist judge.
The Trump administration has made it clear that they are looking to stop immigration, unauthorized, and “the right way.” This latest focus on immigration judges is another step in its attempt to harm immigrants.
