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trump administration Is looking to recruit so-called “deportation judges” to carry out its aggression immigration enforcement agenda Dozens of immigration judges were fired or forced out during his first ten months in office.
Justice Department on Tuesday posted an ad On social media. It read, “The previous administration created an immigration crisis for us. Help President Trump solve it! Become a deportation judge today.”
Justice Department – which oversees the country’s immigration court system – includes a link Describing situations that are both personal and remote.
The website states that judges will “make decisions with generational consequences”. They would also ensure that “only aliens with legally qualified claims are allowed to remain” and that “those trying to exploit weaknesses in our immigration system do not succeed.”
There are 70 vacancies in the US, where judges can earn between $159,951 and $207,500 per year.
government’s application portal Lists the positions as immigration judges, not deportation judges. It states that candidates must have JD, LLB or LLM. Degree as well as adjudication experience. However, it does not specifically say that this experience must be in the field of immigration law.
This is not the first time that such an advertisement has been made.
In late November, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem “If you are a legal professional, the Trump Administration is calling on you to join @TheJusticeDept as a deportation judge to restore the integrity and honor of our nation’s immigration court system,” she wrote on social media.
Immigration judges play a vital role in overseeing the millions of immigrants processed through the legal system. Asylum seekers and immigrants appear before them to plead their cases for protection or to protest removal to their countries of origin. Judges have recently been inundated with a huge volume of asylum claims, resulting in Record-large backlognext increase in border crossings Under former President Joe Biden.
The Trump administration – which has vowed to launch the largest deportation program in US history – has fired or ousted an already small group of immigration judges. about 100 since January, Independent Reported earlier.
On December 1, at least eight immigration judges in New York City were let go, according to a union representing them. And last month, five judges in San Francisco were fired without explanation. Dozens of others have resigned or retired.
The rush to exit has reduced the number of immigration judges from 715 to about 600, representing a 16 percent reduction in less than a year.
A DOJ spokesperson said Independent“Four years after the Biden Administration forced immigration courts to implement de facto amnesty for hundreds of thousands of aliens, this Justice Department is restoring integrity to our immigration system and encouraging talented legal professionals to join our mission to protect national security and public safety.”
A Justice Department official said the agency does not “target” judges “based on personal criteria or the judge’s perceived views one way or another.”
To help replenish the depleted bench, the administration has relaxed the criteria required for immigration judges.
In September the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review authorized the appointment of “any lawyer“To temporarily serve as an immigration judge – even for people who lack experience in this field, Independent Reported earlier.
In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved sending approximately 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to help fill courts across the United States.
The office has also directed judges to quickly approve motions from government lawyers to dismiss immigrants’ cases, paving the way for speedy deportation.
These changes have resulted in immigrants requesting relief being processed by federal agents immediately after their hearings.
The White House praised the appointment of more immigration judges, an official said associated Press The case should happen in September “Priority That everyone – including those waiting for the decision – can unite.”
But some legal experts have pushed against filling immigration courts with individuals lacking relevant experience.
“The work of immigration judges has been described as life-and-death decisions in traffic court situations,” Ben Johnson, executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, previously explained. Independent“It is absurd to expect impartial decisions from judges unfamiliar with the law,”
A Justice Department official said temporary immigration judges receive the same training as regular immigration judges.