DOJ Relaxes Rules on Who Can Serve as Temporary Immigration Judges
The Trump Administration is changing the rules on who can serve as temporary immigration judges, giving itself wide latitude in selecting people who will decide immigration cases. This as the backlog of immigration cases totals about 3.7 million.
In a new rule published in the Federal Register, DOJ will allow attorneys without immigration law experience to serve as temporary immigration judges (TIJs).
Already the administration has authorized about 600 lawyers at the Department of Defense (DOD) to serve as TIJs. DOD will send the lawyers, both military and civilian, in groups of 150 “as soon as practicable.”
Under the previous policy, temporary immigration judges must have substantive experience in immigration law. That opened up the positions only to immigration judges, administrative law judges, or DOJ attorneys with at least ten years of experience in immigration law.
DOJ called that restrictive. In its rule, the head of the Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR), with approval from Attorney General Pam Bondi, will be able to select “any attorney” to serve as a temporary immigration judge for six months. The department did not cap the number of extensions. Attorneys can be from DOJ, other agencies, or newly hired “special government employees.”
“Immigration law experience is not always a strong predictor of success as an IJ, and EOIR has hired individuals from other federal agencies and department components without prior immigration experience who have become successful and exemplary IJs,” stated the rule.
Critics of the change say it’s a power grab by the Trump Administration and an erosion of due process.
“Due process in immigration court is dubious on a regular day, and this is not a regular day,” said Immigration Legal Resource Center senior policy attorney Elizabeth Taufa to NBC News. “So I think we are going to see a continued erosion of due process. I think we are going to see more folks with specific political bias that are hired in this role.”
The move to fill temporary immigration judgeships comes as about 100 permanent immigration judges have either been fired or resigned since the president took office. There are currently about 600 or so permanent immigration judges.