The U.S. Department of Justice this week added what it calls the largest class of immigration judges in the agency’s history, swearing in 77 permanent judges and five temporary appointees during a ceremony in Washington, D.C. The newcomers increase the bench to nearly 700 judges after the current administration dismissed more than 100 sitting immigration judges.
"Today, we are onboarding the largest immigration judge class in agency history," Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "This could only happen thanks to President Trump’s decisive leadership and commitment to securing our borders." The statement framed the wave of appointments as part of the administration’s priority to secure the border and accelerate immigration case processing.
Immigration judges operate within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, rather than as part of the federal judiciary. The Board of Immigration Appeals, which is also housed within that office, handles appeals of immigration judges' rulings.
Since the administration returned to power in January 2025 with a tougher immigration agenda, at least 115 immigration judges have been fired, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges. The association also reports that a roughly equal number of judges took buyouts, resigned, or retired out of a total bench that has been about 700 judges.
Replacement hires have frequently come from backgrounds in criminal prosecution or immigration enforcement, and many of the 77 permanent judges share enforcement-oriented professional histories. The Justice Department said that in the 2026 fiscal year, which began on October 1, its immigration review office has hired 153 permanent immigration judges, the most the office has ever hired in a single fiscal year.
In addition to the permanent appointments, five temporary judges were sworn in who hail from the military and can serve for up to six months. The Pentagon in September said that military and civilian lawyers working for the U.S. Defense Department under the leadership of U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would temporarily serve as immigration judges.
The Justice Department has identified reducing the immigration court backlog as one of its biggest priorities. It reported that the pending caseload in immigration courts has declined from about 4 million cases to under 3.53 million since the administration took office.
Officials characterize the recruitment and onboarding effort as necessary to restore capacity on the bench and to implement the administration’s enforcement-focused policy agenda. The profile of new judges and the use of temporary military and Defense Department lawyers underscore a shift in the composition of the immigration judiciary toward candidates with enforcement experience.
Context and next steps
With nearly 700 judges now reported on the roster and an aggressive hiring pace recorded in the 2026 fiscal year, the Justice Department’s stated objectives include shortening case backlogs and accelerating removal proceedings. How the newly constituted bench will affect processing times and legal outcomes will depend on the integration of the new judges into the immigration courts and the handling of appeals at the Board of Immigration Appeals.