Justice Department fires multiple immigration judges amid case backlog
The Department of Justice fired multiple immigration judges Friday, according to two sources familiar with the decision and a statement from one of the judges on LinkedIn.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department fired multiple immigration judges on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the decision and a statement from one of the judges on LinkedIn. The move threatens to throw sand in the gears of an already strained immigration system as the Trump administration moves to rapidly reshape the federal workforce.
The terminations were enacted by the acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Justice Department, which oversees immigration courts.
A union representing immigration judges said that since the start of the Trump administration, more than two dozen immigration judges, managers and new hires have been fired.
Five midlevel assistant chief immigration judges and 13 candidates to become new judges received termination notices on Friday, according to the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers.
“You have a president now who campaigned on immigration and removing people from the country on the one hand. And on the other hand, he’s actually firing the very judges that have to hear these cases and make those decisions. So, it makes no sense. It’s a head scratcher,” said Matt Biggs, the president of the IFPTE.
Rating: 5