Trump administration fires 20 immigration judges

The Trump administration fired 20 immigration judges, a union official told AP on Saturday. This is a part of several moves to reduce the size of the federal government.

On Friday, 13 judges who were yet to be sworn in and five assistant chief immigration judges were dismissed without a 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.

It remains to be seen if the fired judges would be replaced.



At present, immigration courts are backlogged with more than 3.7 million cases, according to Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. Additionally, it takes years to decide asylum cases.

Political leaders across the spectrum have supported and called for more judges and staff, though the first Trump administration also pressured some judges to decide cases more quickly.

The administration had 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 new instructions, many of which include reversing policies of the Biden administration.


Last month, The Department of Justice had stopped financial support for NGOs to provide provide information and guidance to people facing deportation but restored funding after a coalition of nonprofit groups filed a federal lawsuit.

The firings are in line with two of Trumps top priorities, which include 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, affecting thousands of workers. Probationary workers generally have less than a year on the job.