The Trump administration has appointed the largest class of immigration judges to date, adding 82 new judges to address the significant immigration case backlog inherited from the Biden administration.
This month, the Justice Department has announced plans to bring on 77 permanent judges and 5 temporary judges to help with the backlog.
The Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) made the announcement about the new judges being sworn in on Thursday. It was highlighted that this addition brings the total number of immigration judges to 700.
In addition, EOIR noted that “this fiscal year, 153 full-time immigration judges have been hired, marking the highest number in a single year for the agency.”
“The Trump Administration is focused on reestablishing a panel of immigration judges committed to restoring legal order within our immigration system,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche remarked. “Today, we are welcoming the largest class of judges in the agency’s history. This achievement is a result of President Trump’s strong leadership and focus on border security. I also commend the EOIR leadership for their efficiency in bringing on qualified personnel swiftly.”
The judges took their oaths on May 20, 2026, at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. The department elaborated:
Addressing the immigration court backlog is one of our key priorities. Since January 20, 2025, EOIR has resolved over 1.08 million cases and decreased the number of pending cases by more than 447,000, cutting the total from around 4 million to under 3.53 million—this marks the largest decrease in EOIR’s history.
This appointment comes shortly after the Justice Department’s decision to dismiss several immigration judges who were allegedly making politically motivated decisions and granting too many immigration applications.
Earlier this month, Blanche defended the new approach, emphasizing that judges need to make decisions based purely on the law rather than personal feelings.
“Once you take an oath, your rulings shouldn’t be based on what seems like sympathy or a whim,” Blanche stated according to ABC News.
Despite this, Blanche also pointed out that the Trump administration is swiftly working to resolve the immigration case backlog left by Biden.
“We closed about 500,000 cases last year, which is quite unusual,” he shared with the Appropriations Committee this week.
Since the beginning of his second term, lawmakers linked to Trump have notably lowered the approval rates for economic immigrants in asylum claims, with only 10% of applicants winning their cases by December 2025.
In contrast, under President Joe Biden, over 50% of migrants successfully secured asylum as of fall 2023, although many were economic migrants rather than facing direct government persecution.
Winning asylum is crucial as it allows undocumented immigrants to enter the job market alongside American citizens, gain access to green cards, apply for citizenship, and reunite with family members waiting for immigration through chain processes. Currently, about 2.3 million of the estimated 15 million illegal immigrants have pending asylum claims.
