Durbin, Raskin, House And Senate Democrats Urge Attorney General Bondi To Reverse Course On Unjustified Firings Of Immigration Judges
The unjustified firings come as immigration courts are already under immense pressure to adjudicate roughly 3.6 million backlogged cases, with further strains expected with Trump’s mass deportation agenda
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, led 66 House and Senate Democrats in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi highlighting the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR)’s alarming decision to fire immigration judges, with indications to fire even more as the immigration courts currently face a staggering backlog of immigration cases.
In February, EOIR abruptly fired twenty immigration judges, removed all nine Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) judges appointed during the Biden Administration, and terminated four individuals in senior EOIR leadership positions.
The lawmakers began by writing: “We write with great concern regarding the Executive Office for Immigration Review’s (EOIR) decision to fire numerous immigration judges as the immigration courts face a staggering backlog of cases and a likely influx of new cases pursuant to President Trump’s mass-deportation agenda.”
The lawmakers continued by highlighting the resource gaps left by these unjustified firings, citing data exclusively provided to the Committees, writing: “The termination of the ACIJs left roughly 25 percent of immigration courts without appropriate or established leadership or additional judges to preside over immigration matters. The fired ACIJs oversaw 18 of the 71 immigration courts and supervised 135 of approximately 700 immigration judges and over 400 staff members. They played key roles in ensuring immigration judges under their supervision adjudicated cases properly and efficiently. These changes will lessen the quality of immigration case decisions and the speed at which immigration cases are adjudicated.”
The lawmakers continue by highlighting the stress immigration courts faced to clear backlogs even prior to these unjustified firings, writing: “The decision to terminate these experienced ACIJs is particularly baffling, given the immense pressure the immigration courts are under to adjudicate roughly 3.6 million immigration cases. A recent analysis found that 700 additional immigration judges would be needed to clear the case backlog by FY2032. The absence of experienced ACIJs will impact immigration court dockets, in particular by further contributing to backlogs at courts with priority dockets, such as the detained dockets, juvenile dockets, Family Expedited Removal Management (FERM) dockets, and credible fear dockets. The firings also will directly impact the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP) docket, a purported priority of the Trump Administration, which has commenced at the San Diego and El Paso courts. The two ACIJs with the most experience managing the MPP docket were among those fired.”
The lawmakers further underscore the lack of notice or justification provided for the firings, suggesting they were politically motivated, writing: “EOIR terminated the ACIJs with no warning, and in at least one case, an ACIJ received the termination email during an asylum hearing and had to abruptly depart the hearing, leaving the status of the case unclear. The termination emails did not cite any legal provision or basis for the removals, stating only that the ACIJs’ ‘employment was no longer in the best interest of the agency.’ Like the EOIR leadership terminated shortly after President Trump took office, the ACIJs who were fired apparently had no conduct or performance issues prior to their termination. EOIR also forced out every BIA member appointed during the Biden Administration through threats of demotion or reduction in force notices. This occurred despite the governing regulation stating the BIA shall consist of 28 members. Reducing the size of the BIA from 28 to 15 members will have practical repercussions on the Board’s caseload and quality of decisions.”
The lawmakers conclude by outlining the grave consequences of continuing to threaten the EOIR workforce, before making a series of information requests, writing: “Further jeopardizing the immigration courts’ ability to address the case backlog are EOIR’s efforts to reduce the overall size of the EOIR workforce. According to the union representing immigration judges, about 85 immigration court professionals, including 18 judges, accepted the Trump Administration’s deferred resignation offer or early retirement. Despite the impact on adjudications and court efficiency, it appears EOIR leadership may continue to fire immigration judges … Alarmingly, the Trump Administration also has not indicated any plans to replace the recently fired judges—a process that requires intensive training that can take upwards of one year.”
In addition to Raskin, the letter is signed by U.S. Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-IL-01), Becca Balint (D-VT-AL), Sanford Bishop (D-GA-02), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01), Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Sean Casten (D-IL-06), Gerald Connolly (D-VA-11), J. Correa (D-CA-46), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX-30), Danny Davis (D-IL-07), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX-07), Jesús García (D-IL-04), Daniel Goldman (D-NY-10), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Jared Huffman (D-CA-02), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL-01), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Henry Johnson (D-GA-04), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL-08), George Latimer (D-NY-06), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), Stephen Lynch (D-MA-08), Betty McCollum (D-MN-04), James McGovern (D-MA-02), Grace Meng (D-NY-06), Eleanor Norton (D-DC-AL), Frank Pallone (D-NJ-06), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Deborah Ross (D-NC-02), Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA-05), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY-03), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-02), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23), Maxine Waters (D-CA-43).
Click here for a PDF copy of the letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
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