Immigration Courts Overhauled: A New Era of Enforcement

In a sweeping transformation since 2025, the Trump administration has reduced the permanent immigration judge corps by a quarter, terminated dozens of judges, closed a major court, and issued a record number of precedent-setting decisions that overwhelmingly favor government positions.

Overview of Personnel Changes

As of February 2025, the U.S. immigration court system employed 726 permanent immigration judges, including assistant chief judges. Following a series of terminations and resignations, that number fell to 520 permanent judges and 33 assistant chief immigration judges. This represents a net reduction of 202 judges, even after accounting for new hires.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) also lost over 400 legal assistants, attorney advisers, and legal administrative specialists, including an estimated 75% of attorney advisers and 54% of court supervisors.

Terminations of Immigration Judges

NPR independently identified 70 immigration judges who received termination notices from the Justice Department between February and October 2025. The union representing immigration judges reported a similar number of terminations. Additional terminations continued, with at least 14 judges terminated within a two-week period later in the year. The total number of firings, resignations, and retirements reached approximately 140.

The DOJ disputed NPR's count, stating the number of terminated judges was fewer than 55, but was unable to provide further details.

NPR's analysis found that approximately 44% of terminated judges had prior experience defending immigrants — more than double the proportion of terminated judges who only had prior work history at DHS.

An analysis of judges onboarded between February 2023 and November 2024 showed that judges with prior DHS experience constituted the largest share of those remaining on the bench.

Some terminations occurred for judges serving beyond their two-year probationary period. NPR tracked 12 judges fired who started prior to 2023. Former judges Ila Deiss (since 2017) and Emmett Soper (since 2016) were among those terminated.

Judge Terminations: Specific Cases and Legal Actions

Multiple judges reported receiving termination notifications during ongoing court proceedings or via email, often without a stated reason.

• Tania Nemer, a former immigration judge in Cleveland, filed a lawsuit alleging her termination was discriminatory. She claims it was based on her gender, her status as a dual citizen of Lebanon, and her past political activity as a Democratic candidate for municipal office in Ohio. The government's response, as cited by her attorney, argued that the President's authority under Article II of the Constitution to oversee the executive branch supersedes core civil rights legislation for federal employees. Her Equal Employment Opportunity complaint was dismissed, asserting a conflict between Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the president's removal power.

• Jeremiah Johnson, a San Francisco immigration judge since 2017, stated he was terminated without prior indication of performance issues.

• Shira Levine, a judge since 2021, reported her termination in September and suggested it might relate to her decisions on certain policy applications, such as denying 'motions to dismiss' cases.

• Kyra Lilien (Concord, Calif.) and Anam Petit (Annandale, Virginia) also reported receiving termination notifications.

DOJ Response to Terminations

A DOJ spokesperson stated that the agency does not target or prioritize immigration judges for personnel decisions based on prior experience. The spokesperson stated that the DOJ evaluates all judges based on factors including conduct, impartiality, adherence to law, productivity, and professionalism. The spokesperson also noted that immigration judges are "inferior officers" appointed and removed by the Attorney General, pursuant to Article II of the Constitution.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated that the administration is "committed to reestablishing an immigration judge corps dedicated to restoring the rule of law."

New Judicial Appointments and Recruitment

The DOJ hired 77 new immigration judges and 5 temporary military lawyer-judges in the current fiscal year. A new hiring campaign was launched to recruit "deportation judges," a departure from the previous "immigration judges" title. Recruitment materials included phrases such as "Deliver justice to criminal illegal aliens. Become a deportation judge. Save your country."

• 36 new judges were appointed, 25 of whom are temporary.
• The incoming class of permanent judges primarily has backgrounds in federal government work, including EOIR, DHS, ICE, and CBP, with no judges identified as having prior experience in immigrant defense.
• The Pentagon authorized up to 600 military lawyers from the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGs) to serve as temporary immigration judges.
• Matthew O'Brien and David White, previously terminated under the Biden administration, were reinstated in Virginia immigration courts.

Changes to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA)

The BIA, an administrative court within the Justice Department, was reduced in size from 28 to 15 judges. In 2025, the BIA published a record 70 precedent-setting decisions, the highest number since 2009.

An NPR analysis found that in 2025, DHS prevailed in 97% of publicly posted cases before the board — a rate at least 30 percentage points higher than the average from the previous 16 years.

The BIA issued a precedent decision, Matter of Yajure Hurtado, ruling that immigration judges must deny bond and detain noncitizens who entered the country illegally. Federal appellate courts are currently reviewing this policy.

Court Closures and Impact on Caseload

The San Francisco Immigration Court is scheduled to close by the end of the year. All personnel will be transferred to the Concord Immigration Court, approximately 30 miles away. The San Francisco court lost 16 judges (at least 12 through terminations), leaving it with four immigration judges at the start of the current year, down from 21. Its caseload of approximately 120,935 immigration cases will be transferred to Concord or handled remotely.

Twelve immigration courts have lost over half of their judges. The Aurora Immigration Court in Colorado and the Oakdale Immigration Court in Louisiana currently have zero permanent judges. Fourteen smaller courts operate with two or fewer permanent judges.

Impact on Backlog

The immigration court system currently faces a backlog of nearly 4 million cases. Terminated and resigned judges leave behind thousands of cases, some with waiting periods already spanning years. Cases are often reassigned to other judges, resulting in new court dates extended as far as 2030.

EOIR stated that reducing the immigration court backlog is a high priority and that it is committed to enhancing operational efficiency.

Proposed Legislation

Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Juan Vargas introduced legislation to establish specific qualification criteria for temporary immigration judges. The bill would require the Attorney General to appoint temporary judges only if they have served on appellate panels, been an administrative judge in another agency, or have a minimum of 10 years of experience in immigration law. The legislation currently lacks Republican co-sponsors.