Trump Administration Dismisses Eight Immigration Judges in New York as National Shakeup Continues

The Trump administration dismissed eight immigration judges based at 26 Federal Plaza in New York City, an official from the National Association of Immigration Judges said Monday. Among those removed was Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Amiena Khan, who supervised judges at that courthouse.

All eight judges worked out of the immigration court offices at 26 Federal Plaza, the same complex that houses U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's New York offices. The association official said the removals are part of a broader personnel shift: 98 immigration judges have been fired nationwide since January, including 12 assistant chief judges, and the total bench has fallen from about 700 to under 600.

Officials report that nearly as many judges have accepted early-retirement packages, resigned, or taken early-out options since the start of the administration. The Executive Office for Immigration Review at the Justice Department declined to comment on individual personnel decisions but issued a statement framing the changes as an effort to restore integrity to the immigration system and encouraging qualified legal professionals to apply for vacancies.

"After four years of the Biden Administration forcing Immigration Courts to implement a de facto amnesty for hundreds of thousands of aliens, this Department of Justice is restoring integrity to our immigration system and encourages talented legal professionals to join in our mission to protect national security and public safety," a Justice Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Since January the Justice Department says it has hired and placed 11 permanent judges and appointed 25 temporary judges—many with military legal experience—on six-month terms. Congress included language in a tax bill calling for 800 permanent immigration judges and judge teams to support them, but hiring has not kept pace with that target.

The immigration courts continue to face a backlog of more than 3.4 million cases. In September, a defense official confirmed the Pentagon is considering authorizing up to 600 military attorneys to serve temporarily as immigration judges to help reduce the caseload.

Earlier this year, three dismissed immigration judges described their removals as "arbitrary, unfair" and "an attack on the rule of law." Union representatives have alleged some judges were removed without cause; the Justice Department has not confirmed those claims.

In late August the Justice Department finalized a rule loosening qualification requirements for temporary immigration judges, widening the pool of government lawyers eligible to hear cases. Previously, only Department of Justice lawyers with roughly a decade of immigration-law experience or former immigration judges could serve in those temporary roles.