Trump Administration Fires Dozens of Immigration Judges to Speed Deportations

The Trump administration has terminated at least 90 of approximately 600 immigration judges since January 2025 to accelerate mass deportation efforts. The executive branch is replacing these judges with military lawyers and reinstating personnel previously dismissed under the Biden administration. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) has denied targeting judges based on their experience, though data indicates 44% of those fired between February and October had backgrounds in immigrant defense and no experience with the Department of Homeland Security.

These personnel shifts are linked to a February 2025 memo from the Executive Office for Immigration Review citing problematic personnel practices under the previous administration and President Donald Trump's Schedule F order to reclassify career civil servants as political appointees. The disruption has caused the EOIR to lose over 125 judges, potentially delaying asylum hearings until 2029.

Individual cases highlight the ideological tension within the courts. Christopher Day, a U.S. Army Reserve lieutenant colonel, was fired in December 2025 after one month on the bench in Annandale, Virginia. Data showed Day granted asylum in six of 11 cases, a rate significantly higher than other military judges. While the DOJ claims it evaluates personnel on conduct and productivity, former judges and attorneys have filed lawsuits alleging retribution for rulings that contradicted administration policy.