New immigration judges [View all]
Source: KPCC Pasadena, CA/LAist/NPR
Published October 25, 2025 11:00 AM
The Justice Department has hired 36 immigration judges, including 25 temporary ones, for its Executive Office for Immigration Review, marking the first class to join the immigration courts after months of cuts to the workforce. Judges will soon take the bench across 16 states, according to a Justice Department announcement. These include courts that saw the biggest losses of judges this year such as Chelmsford, Mass., and Chicago.
"EOIR is restoring its integrity as a preeminent administrative adjudicatory agency," the announcement states. "These new immigration judges are joining an immigration judge corps that is committed to upholding the rule of law."
The incoming class of permanent judges comprises mostly those with a background in federal government work, including EOIR itself and the Department of Homeland Security. Previously, they trained Immigration and Customs enforcement and Customs and Border Protection agents, were asylum officers and worked for ICE's legal arm. One judge was originally going to take the bench at the start of the year but was among the initial class of judges fired before they could start.
The temporary immigration judges include military lawyers from the Marines, Navy, Army and Air Force. Earlier this summer, the Pentagon authorized about 600 military lawyers to work for the DOJ. The DOJ changed who could qualify as a temporary immigration judge — effectively lowering the requirements and removing the need to have prior immigration law experience.
Read more: https://laist.com/brief/news/department-of-justice-hires-immigration-judges-after-months-of-layoffs
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