The Trump administration dismissed more than a dozen immigration judges on Friday, marking a significant move in line with President Donald Trump’s push to reduce the federal workforce.
A union official confirmed to the Associated Press that 13 judges who were set to be sworn in, along with five assistant chief immigration judges, were removed from their positions without prior notice.
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The action follows the dismissal of two other immigration judges earlier in the week.
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The Department of Justice has not yet announced any replacements for the judges who were let go.
The dismissals come as U.S. immigration courts face an overwhelming backlog, with more than three million pending cases, according to a previous report by Fox News Digital.
Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) shows that immigration judges currently handle an average of 4,500 cases each, highlighting the strain on the system.
In addition to the judge firings, the Trump administration also replaced five top officials at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), including the agency’s acting director, Mary Cheng, according to the Associated Press.
On January 27, Sirce Owen, the acting director of the Department of Justice, issued a memo stating that the previous administration had “severely undermined” the core values of the EOIR.
“An effort to restore those values and to re-establish EOIR as a model administrative adjudicatory body is well underway,” Owen wrote.
“If all employees are willing to join that effort, then there will be no limit to what EOIR can achieve.”
The memo signals a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape immigration policy by ensuring that the EOIR aligns with its objectives.
The move to fire immigration judges aligns with a broader directive issued Thursday by the Trump administration.
Federal agencies were instructed to lay off most probationary employees who do not have civil service protection, according to the Associated Press.
The International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, a union representing federal employees, and the U.S. Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on Saturday.
With the federal workforce reduction underway, it remains unclear whether additional changes will be made to the immigration court system as the administration continues its focus on government efficiency and enforcement.
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