Trump Administration Names Immigration Judges With Enforcement Backgrounds Amid Deportation Push

The Justice Department has hired 42 new immigration judges, many ​with backgrounds in immigration enforcement, as President Donald Trump’s administration moves to reshape the immigration court system by restocking ‌its ranks with people it dubs “deportation judges.”

The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review said a new class of immigration judges was sworn in on Wednesday to serve in immigration courts in 17 states including California, Florida, New York, New Jersey and Texas.

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The 42 new judges come ​on top of 20 other permanent hires the Justice Department has announced since October. It has also brought on dozens of temporary judges, many with military backgrounds, who can serve up to six months, after firing more than 100 judges since Trump took office last year.

The latest hires also include several judges ​with military backgrounds. More commonly, however, they share experience as prosecutors or in immigration enforcement.

More than a third previously worked on immigration ​matters at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with several coming straight from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, where they worked as lawyers.

The new ‌hires will ⁠begin to replace the at least 104 immigration judges who have been fired since January 2025 and an almost equal number that have taken buyouts, resigned or retired since then out of a total of approximately 700 judges, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges.

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