On Thursday, March 6, 2025, The New York Times reported that several immigration judges and court staff have accepted government payout offers, resulting in significant personnel losses within the already strained immigration system. According to a union official, 85 employees, including 18 immigration judges, from the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review have accepted either deferred resignation packages or early retirement incentives.

This latest development contributes to an ongoing trend of personnel reductions under the Trump administration, which had previously dismissed 29 individuals from the same office, including its top leadership. Consequently, nearly 40 judges have left or been removed from the more than 700 immigration judges that were in position when Trump assumed office.

Immigration judges function within an administrative court system that operates under the Justice Department, rather than the judicial branch of the government. They are responsible for making crucial decisions on asylum claims and possess the authority to order the removal of individuals from the United States. President Trump had campaigned on a commitment to bolster this number to tackle a significant backlog that has resulted in cases often taking years to resolve.

The decrease in immigration judges potentially undermines the administration’s agenda to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, as the delays associated with resolving immigration claims contribute to the growing number of individuals living in the U.S. while awaiting adjudication of their cases.

Matthew Biggs, president of the International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, highlighted the contradiction in President Trump’s policies during a statement on Thursday, noting that while the administration promised to increase deportations, the number of available judges has actually diminished, limiting the capacity for deportation hearings.

The Department of Justice did not respond to inquiries seeking comments on these recent developments. Current statistics reveal that each immigration judge handles an average of 500 to 700 cases annually, with court records indicating a backlog exceeding 3.7 million cases, as compiled by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

This backlog stems from an immigration system that has faced increasing strain over decades. For many asylum seekers, the wait to appear in court can extend for years, leading many to settle into communities across the country, thereby establishing roots and families.

Biggs further commented on the challenges of replenishing the ranks of immigration judges, stating that the specialized knowledge and legal experience required make these positions difficult to fill. According to him, the process to recruit, hire, and adequately train a new judge can take a minimum of one year.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers have shown support for increasing the number of judges within the immigration system. However, the Trump administration has also terminated judges serving on the Board of Immigration Appeals, suggesting a potential trend toward further reductions in judicial resources.

Last month, the Justice Department issued a memo indicating that immigration judges could be dismissed at the discretion of the administration, which raises concerns about future cuts to the judicial workforce handling immigration cases.

 

 

Source: The New York Times