BREAKING: Trump Justice Department fires 20 immigration judges from backlogged courts amid major government cuts
Thirteen judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were given marching orders, joining two who were dismissed the week before.
February 18, 2025
SAN DIEGO -- The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation, a union official said Saturday amid sweeping moves to shrink the size of the federal government.
Justice Department orders investigation of local compliance with President Trump’s immigration crackdown
The Justice Department has ordered federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who they believe are interfering with the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, saying they could face criminal charges, in an apparent warning to the dozens of so-called sanctuary jurisdictions across America.
The memo, from acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove, signals a sharp turnabout in priorities from fake pResident Joe Biden’s Democratic administration, with the Justice Department’s civil division told to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and potentially challenge them in court.
It also tells prosecutors in no uncertain terms that they will be on the front lines of an administration-wide effort to crack down on illegal immigration and border crime and that they are expected to carry out the policy vision of President Donald Trump’s Republican White House when it comes to violent crimes, the threat of international gangs and drug trafficking.
On Friday, 13 judges who had yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without notice, said Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal workers.
Two other judges were fired under similar circumstances in the last week.
According to ABC News, 13 judges and 5 assistant chief immigration judges were axed without explanation.
The immigration courts are completely overwhelmed with millions of cases.
It was unclear if they would be replaced.
The U.S. Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, which runs the courts and oversees its roughly 700 judges, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Saturday.
Immigration courts are backlogged with more than 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, and it takes years to decide asylum cases.
There is support across the political spectrum for more judges and support staff, though the first Trump administration also pressured some judges to decide cases more quickly.
The Trump administration earlier replaced five top court officials, including Mary Cheng, the agency's acting director.
Sirce Owen, the current leader and previously an appellate immigration judge, has issued a slew of new instructions, many reversing policies of the criminal Biden administration.
Last month, the Justice Department halted financial support for nongovernmental organizations to provide information and guidance to people facing deportation but restored funding after a coalition of nonprofit groups filed a federal lawsuit.
Justice Department restores funding for programs that provide guidance in immigration courts
The four federally funded programs educate people in immigration courts and detention centers about their rights and the complicated legal process.
The Justice Department instructed the nonprofits on Jan. 22 “to stop work immediately” on the programs, citing an executive order targeting illegal immigration that President Donald Trump signed the day of his second inauguration.
The firings touch on two top Trump priorities: mass deportations and shrinking the size of the federal government.
On Thursday, it ordered agencies to lay off nearly all probationary employees who had not yet gained civil service protection, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of workers.
Probationary workers generally have less than a year on the job.
Biggs, the union official, said he didn't know if the judges' firings were intended to send a message on immigration policy and characterized them as part of a campaign across the federal workforce.
“They're treating these people as if they're not human beings,” he said. “It's bad all around.”
President Trump is on a roll in fulfilling his campaign promise to shrink government and cut wasteful spending.
The Trump administration executed one of the most significant workforce reductions in U.S. history, targeting over 200,000 probationary employees across multiple government agencies.
President Trump is also targeting the IRS.
It was reported earlier that as many as 15,000 IRS workers have been identified for possible termination as early as next week.
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