The administration fired key immigration judges who oversee courts that address the 3.6 million backlogged immigration cases
An estimated 700 additional judges are needed just to clear current backlog by 2032
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined 65 other members of Congress to urge Attorney General Pam Bondi to address the impact of Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) alarming decision to fire key judges as the immigration system faces a staggering backlog of cases.
“We write with great concern regarding the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) decision to fire numerous immigration judges as the immigration courts face a staggering backlog of cases and a likely influx of new cases pursuant to President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda,” wrote the lawmakers. “These changes will lessen the quality of immigration case decisions and the speed at which immigration cases are adjudicated.”
Recently, EOIR abruptly fired twenty immigration judges, removed all nine Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) judges appointed during the previous administration, and terminated four individuals in senior EOIR leadership positions. However, a recent analysis found that 700 additional immigration judges would be needed to clear the existing case backlog by 2032.
In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted how the firings will cause further strain and backlog for the immigration system. They also demanded answers to how the administration plans to address the existing backlog of immigration cases.
Full text of the letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Attorney General Bondi:
We write with great concern regarding the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) decision to fire numerous immigration judges as the immigration courts face a staggering backlog of cases and a likely influx of new cases pursuant to President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda.
On February 14, 2025, EOIR abruptly terminated 20 immigration judges via email without prior notice or stated cause, including 13 judges who had not yet been sworn in and seven of EOIR’s approximately 40 assistant chief immigration judges (ACIJs). Additionally, EOIR removed nine Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) members, all of whom were appointed during the Biden Administration. These removals followed the termination of four individuals in senior EOIR leadership positions.
The termination of the ACIJs left roughly 25 percent of immigration courts without appropriate or established leadership or additional judges to preside over immigration matters. The fired ACIJs oversaw 18 of the 71 immigration courts and supervised 135 of approximately 700 immigration judges and over 400 staff members. They played key roles in ensuring immigration judges under their supervision adjudicated cases properly and efficiently. These changes will lessen the quality of immigration case decisions and the speed at which immigration cases are adjudicated.
There have been valid criticisms in the past regarding the politicized hiring of immigration judges. Under President George W. Bush’s Administration, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales improperly considered political affiliations when selecting immigration judges. In addition, under the first Trump Administration, Attorney General Jeff Sessions changed the hiring process to quickly add six new BIA members who were immigration judges with among the highest asylum denial rates in the country. There is no indication, however, that the hiring process for the recently fired immigration judges and ACIJs was politicized. The immigration judges and ACIJs had varied backgrounds and had previously worked as ICE attorneys, prosecutors, DHS officials, and members of the private immigration bar.8 In addition, two of the fired ACIJs are veterans; one is a disabled veteran, and the other is a combat veteran with a pending disability claim.
The decision to terminate these experienced ACIJs is particularly baffling, given the immense pressure the immigration courts are under to adjudicate roughly 3.6 million immigration cases. A recent analysis found that 700 additional immigration judges would be needed to clear the case backlog by FY2032. The absence of experienced ACIJs will impact immigration court dockets, in particular by further contributing to backlogs at courts with priority dockets, such as the detained dockets, juvenile dockets, Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) dockets, and credible fear dockets. The firings also will directly impact the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) docket, a purported priority of the Trump Administration, which has commenced at the San Diego and El Paso courts. The two ACIJs with the most experience managing the MPP docket were among those fired.
EOIR terminated the ACIJs with no warning, and in at least one case, an ACIJ received the termination email during an asylum hearing and had to abruptly depart the hearing, leaving the status of the case unclear. The termination emails did not cite any legal provision or basis for the removals, stating only that the ACIJs’ “employment was no longer in the best interest of the agency.” Like the EOIR leadership terminated shortly after President Trump took office, the ACIJs who were fired apparently had no conduct or performance issues prior to their termination.
EOIR also forced out every BIA member appointed during the Biden Administration through threats of demotion or reduction in force notices. This occurred despite the governing regulation stating the BIA shall consist of 28 members. Reducing the size of the BIA from 28 to 15 members will have practical repercussions on the Board’s caseload and quality of decisions.
Further jeopardizing the immigration courts’ ability to address the case backlog are EOIR’s efforts to reduce the overall size of the EOIR workforce. According to the union representing immigration judges, about 85 immigration court professionals, including 18 judges, accepted the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer or early retirement.
Despite the impact on adjudications and court efficiency, it appears EOIR leadership may continue to fire immigration judges. Acting Director Owen recently issued a memo stating that EOIR may decline in the future to recognize restrictions for removing “inferior officers,” including the director, deputy director, all immigration judges, all appellate immigration judges, all administrative law judges, the chief administrative hearing officer, the general counsel, and the assistant director for policy. Another memo indicated that EOIR could not be “confident” that judges hired during the Biden Administration were hired in a “merit-based” and “appropriate” manner. Alarmingly, the Trump Administration also has not indicated any plans to replace the recently fired judges—a process that requires intensive training that can take upwards of one year.
We call on you to respond to the following questions at your earliest possible convenience, and no later than April 11, 2025.
- Between January 20, 2025 and the date of the Department’s response to this letter, please provide the number of people in the following positions that have been dismissed, fired, reassigned, or otherwise let go, including by resignation or accepting an early retirement:
- Immigration judges;
- ACIJs;
- BIA members; and
- Immigration court staff, including legal assistants, attorneys, and administrative staff.
- What are the locations of the immigration courts where the departed personnel, including immigration judges, ACIJs, and immigration court staff, were located?
- Please provide the individual justifications, including indications of bias or impropriety, for the removal of immigration judges, ACIJs, and BIA members between January 21, 2025 and the date of the Department’s response to this letter?
- What is your plan to hire immigration court staff, immigration judges, and ACIJs by the end of FY 2025 and by the end of FY 2026?
- What is your plan to reduce the immigration court backlog? As part of that plan, have you conducted any assessment regarding how reducing immigration court staff and immigration judges will impact the backlog of cases?
- What is your plan to apply expedited removal to people currently in removal proceedings under section 240 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)? Have you provided any related instructions to immigration judges to block terminations of cases where the individual has demonstrated prima facie eligibility for a benefit and has an application pending for relief under the INA?
- How do you plan to reduce the number of BIA members through regulation?
- What, if any, plans do you have to convert IJs and/or ACIJs to “Special Inquiry Officers”?
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
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