The Justice Department just swore in 33 new immigration judges, but here's the twist: 27 of them are temporary hires, and about half come straight from the military. This follows the removal or forced departure of more than 100 judges since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, part of what officials have openly called building a corps of "deportation judges."

Rebuilding After Mass Departures

The Executive Office for Immigration Review confirmed to Reuters that the new judges took their oaths on Thursday. This marks the second wave of appointments, following an October round that added 36 judges, including 25 temporary ones. The fresh recruits will staff immigration courts spanning 15 states, from Arizona and California to New York, Texas, and Massachusetts.

A Justice Department spokesperson positioned the hiring as a correction, stating: "After four years of Biden administration hiring practices that undermined the credibility and impartiality of the immigration courts, this Department of Justice continues to restore integrity to our immigration system and is proud to welcome these talented immigration judges to join in our mission of protecting national security and public safety."

Pentagon Lawyers Join The Immigration System

Here's where things get interesting: half of the permanent judge appointments come from military backgrounds, and all of the temporary judges are military or Defense Department civilian lawyers. These temporary judges can serve up to six months. The Pentagon announced in September that lawyers under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would be detailed as temporary immigration judges, creating a deeper connection between the armed forces and civilian immigration proceedings.

According to the American Immigration Lawyers Association, this bench-thinning is happening just as immigration arrests and deportations ramp up. With more than 100 judges gone from a pool of roughly 700, the timing raises questions about capacity.

Mountains Of Cases, Tighter Deadlines

Immigration courts are currently drowning in approximately 3.2 million pending cases as of December 31, according to data from Mobile Pathways, a nonprofit that tracks court records. That's a staggering backlog that creates years-long waits for many migrants.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is tightening the screws elsewhere. A Board of Immigration Appeals ruling reinterpreted detention statutes, meaning thousands of migrants who previously qualified for bond now face mandatory detention. Federal judges across the country have repeatedly rejected this interpretation, but it remains in effect.

The administration also plans to finalize fast-track regulations that would slash the appeal deadline from 30 days to just 10 days and give the appeals board broader authority to dismiss challenges. For anyone facing deportation, that's a dramatically shorter window to mount a defense.