Trump administration fires immigration judges, disrupting thousands of pending cases

The Trump administration fired approximately 20 immigration judges in March 2025, including judges who had granted bond hearings or asylum claims the administration disagreed with, along with members of the Board of Immigration Appeals. Because immigration judges are DOJ employees rather than independent Article III judges, they can be terminated without judicial tenure protections. The firings disrupted thousands of scheduled hearings and raised immediate due process questions about the independence of the immigration adjudication system.