DOJ Hires Immigration Judges After Firings, Resignations

According to Oklahoma public radio station KGOU, the Department of Justice hired 36 new immigration judges to replace 125 lost in the last 10 months due to firings and resignations.

The Justice Department has hired 36 new immigration judges, including 25 temporary ones, marking the first group to join the immigration courts after months of workforce reductions. These judges will work across 16 states, including locations like Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Chicago that experienced significant judge losses earlier this year.

Background of New Judges

The permanent judges largely come from federal government backgrounds, including positions at EOIR and the Department of Homeland Security, where they worked as asylum officers, ICE attorneys, and trainers for immigration enforcement agents. The temporary judges include military lawyers from various branches of the armed forces, following the Pentagon’s authorization of approximately 600 military lawyers to work for the DOJ.

Impact of Previous Losses

Over the past 10 months, EOIR has lost more than 125 judges through firings and voluntary resignations, reducing the total from about 700 judges at the start of the year. This reduction has contributed to immigration cases being delayed as far out as 2029, adding to the already substantial backlog of millions of cases.

Next Steps

The new cohort was trained at EOIR headquarters in Virginia this month and is expected to begin hearing cases soon, with Congress having allocated over $3 billion to the Justice Department for immigration-related activities, including judge hiring.

Among military Judge Advocate General officers temporarily assigned to EOIR was Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman.