A memo obtained by the Associated Press indicates that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has given the green light to send up to 600 military lawyers to the Department of Justice to serve as temporary immigration judges.
The military plans to start deploying an initial group of 150 lawyers—comprised of both military personnel and civilians—”as soon as possible.” The memo, dated August 27, specifies that military services should identify the first batch of individuals by next week.
This initiative comes amid the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to crack down on immigration and ramp up arrests and deportations.
There’s currently a significant backlog in immigration courts, estimated at around 3.5 million cases.
However, according to their union, many immigrant judges were either dismissed or left voluntarily after the administration’s proposed postponement of resignations. The International Federation of Professional Engineers reported in July that at least 17 immigrant judges were fired “without reason” across the country.
With this situation, there are now roughly 600 immigrant judges, meaning the Pentagon’s action could potentially double their numbers.
This move was initiated by a request from the Department of Justice, and the memo mentions that details could be updated within 179 days.
In light of the changes, a Department of Justice spokesperson addressed questions raised by the Pentagon’s initiative while Pentagon officials redirected inquiries to the White House.
White House representatives indicated that various options are being explored to tackle the serious backlog of immigration cases, including hiring more immigration judges. They emphasized the need for collaboration to address this issue effectively, ensuring that everyone awaiting a ruling is taken into consideration.
