WASHINGTON — The number of U.S. immigration judges has fallen to 557, the lowest level in several years, following a series of dismissals, retirements and resignations that have reshaped the nation’s immigration court system amid the Trump administration’s broader immigration enforcement efforts.
Data reviewed by legal organizations and court observers show the immigration judge corps declined significantly over the past year, despite ongoing hiring efforts by the Department of Justice. The reduction comes as immigration courts continue to manage a backlog of several million pending cases, according to court statistics and public reports.
The immigration courts are overseen by the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which is responsible for adjudicating asylum claims, deportation proceedings and other immigration matters. Immigration judges are executive branch employees rather than members of the federal judiciary.
The decline in staffing follows the dismissal of more than 100 immigration judges since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges and court records cited in litigation involving former judges. Several judges have challenged their removals in court, alleging they were dismissed without sufficient cause or procedural protections.
Critics, including immigration attorneys and former judges, have argued that the staffing reductions have strained an already burdened court system. According to NPR reporting published in February, the number of immigration judges had fallen by roughly one-quarter from a year earlier, leaving some courts with sharply reduced staffing levels and others operating with minimal personnel.
The Justice Department has defended its approach and said it is simultaneously recruiting new judges. In May, EOIR announced the swearing-in of 77 permanent immigration judges and five temporary judges, describing it as the largest class of new adjudicators in the agency’s history. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time that the administration was committed to rebuilding the immigration court workforce and reducing case backlogs.
“Today, we are onboarding the largest immigration judge class in agency history,” Blanche said in a statement released by the Justice Department.
Administration officials have said many of the new hires bring backgrounds in immigration enforcement, criminal prosecution or military service and are intended to support efforts to accelerate immigration case processing. Supporters of the administration’s policies argue that additional hiring and procedural changes will help address longstanding delays in the court system.
Legal advocacy groups and some former judges have expressed concern that staffing changes and increased pressure to move cases more quickly could affect due process protections for immigrants appearing before the courts. Details regarding future staffing levels remain unclear.
As of Friday, the Justice Department continued recruiting immigration judges, while court administrators worked to address a pending caseload that remains above 3.5 million cases, according to EOIR figures.
