The Trump administration abruptly dismissed 20 immigration judges over the weekend, offering no public explanation, according to reports from The Associated Press. The sudden terminations included 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief judges, signaling a significant shift in the U.S. immigration court system.
Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers—a union representing immigration judges—confirmed the dismissals. He also noted that two additional judges were let go under similar circumstances the previous week. These firings come at a time when immigration courts are overwhelmed by a backlog exceeding 3.7 million cases, with asylum seekers often waiting years for their cases to be resolved.
The White House replaced five top court officials, including Mary Cheng, the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s acting director, noted Fox News.
In a memo released on Jan. 27, Sirce Owen, acting director of the Department of Justice, noted the Biden administration “severely undermined” core values of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
“An effort to restore those values and to re-establish EOIR as a model administrative adjudicatory body is well underway,” Owen wrote. “If all employees are willing to join that effort, then there will be no limit to what EOIR can achieve.”
While the administration has emphasized efforts to streamline the federal government, the removal of the judges has raised concerns about the ability of immigration courts to function efficiently. Despite calls for faster case processing, critics argue that reducing the number of judges will only worsen delays, directly contradicting the administration’s stated goal of improving efficiency within the immigration system.
Most of the judges fired were “midnight appointments” made by Joe Biden, who had not yet taken office. Some have speculated that the president removed them because they did not align with the new strategy to actually enforce immigration laws.
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Trump is doing exactly what we sent him to D.C. to do. Anyone corrupt enough to show allegiance to Biden should be fired. First for supporting a corrupt politician, second for being to stupid .
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