Immigration Judges Canned by Administration as ICE Falls Behind Arrest Goals
Judges in the nation’s immigration courts are not immune to the wave of firings of federal employees on probation.
The Trump Administration fired 20 immigration judges without explanation. Thirteen (13) of those fired were yet to take the oath. The firings include five assistant chief immigration judges. And back in January, five senior-level immigration judges were fired.
“The firing of immigration judges when we need more judges to enforce our immigration laws by this administration is a perfect example of hypocrisy,” said International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) president Matt Biggs, which represents the country’s 700 immigration judges.
Immigration judges decide whether undocumented migrants should be deported or whether they are eligible for asylum or another type of relief. Each judge typically hears about 500 to 700 cases a year.
There is currently a backlog of more than 3.7 million immigration cases, leaving millions in legal limbo.
One of the fired judges, Kerry Doyle of Massachusetts, told Bloomberg that staffing hasn’t kept up with the surge in cases.
“There’s an enormous work load and every IJ makes a difference,” Doyle said. “The firings and the sense of uncertainty have been bad for morale for the organization. That can affect people and how they do the work as well.”
ICE Arrests Fall Short of Goals
Meanwhile, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is falling behind on daily arrest goals of undocumented migrants set by the Trump Administration.
ICE arrests fell to fewer than 600 per day in the first half of February, compared with 800 per day in late January. The administration was aiming for 1,200 to 1,500 arrests per day.
The Trump Administration also said it will stop publishing daily arrest numbers and will instead release the data on a monthly basis.
“I’m not happy. We need more‚” said President Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, to Newsmax. Homan did not elaborate on those comments further.
But others point to ICE’s limited resources and staffing as the reason for the shortfall.
The Washington Post notes that officers are working six, seven days a week, and have little time to strategically plan out operations.
Also, many agencies who have been brought in to help, such as the U.S. Marshal Service (USMS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), are not trained on the processing, paperwork and case management elements of immigration enforcement.
“I see a lot of show,” said Jason Houser, who was chief of staff for ICE during the Biden administration. “This administration wants to continuously bring in every piece of the government away from their mission.”