Texas – The Trump administration has announced the dismissal of fifteen immigration judges. This is the second round of layoffs in less than a year. The judges were told by email that their two-year probationary mandates would not be extended and that their employment will officially expire on July 22. The move comes at a time when the immigration court system is dealing with a historic backlog of around four million cases.
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration judges, confirmed the layoffs that NPR originally reported. The email issued to the judges, who work in states like Massachusetts, Illinois, Ohio, Texas, New York, and California, referenced Article II of the U.S. Constitution and said that the Attorney General had chosen not to give them permanent jobs. There were no specific grounds cited for their firing.
These 15 judges are now part of a growing list. In the last six months, around 50 additional judges have been fired. They were at the end of their probationary periods in the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), just like the last group. Along with these terminations, several judges have apparently accepted offers to quit voluntarily in order to cut down on the number of federal employees.
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People have concerns about the timing of the layoffs, especially in light of recent changes in the law. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act was signed by President Trump earlier this year. It gave the Department of Justice more than $3 billion for immigration-related efforts. One of the main goals of the measure was to hire more immigration judges to help with the huge backlog. But even with that order, the Department is laying off judges who are already trained and working. It can take a year or more to hire and train new judges.
Union leaders and Democrats in Congress are asking questions. Earlier this month, Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey wrote to the interim director of EOIR to ask if political opinions had anything to do with the dismissals. They cited to data that showed that around 94% of immigration judges get permanent jobs when their probation period ends.
The officials of EOIR have defended recent modifications by saying that they are necessary for more efficiency. Judges have been told to make oral decisions instead of written ones to speed up the process of resolving cases. Trump has also suggested that Florida’s National Guard Judge Advocate General’s Corps act as immigration judges. This further underscores the administration’s focus on accelerating deportations.
There were over 700 immigration judges in charge of the country’s 71 immigration courts and adjudication facilities as of early 2025. These judges have a lot of power. For example, they can take away green cards or issue final removal orders for people who are in the U.S. without legal status.
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The decision to fire experienced judges continues to be debated about in legal and political circles because the system is already under stress and there is a growing need for cases to be handled more quickly.
