“You’re Fired!”: Trump Administration Drops the Gavel on More Than a Dozen Immigration Judges in a Swift Purge

In a move that stunned the legal community, more than a dozen immigration judges were fired on Friday—just as President Donald Trump had promised to slash the federal workforce.

According to a union official speaking to the Associated Press, a total of 13 judges who were set to be sworn in, along with five assistant chief immigration judges, were dismissed without warning. The sudden shake-up also follows the termination of two other judges earlier in the week. No replacements have been announced, leaving major questions about the already overwhelmed immigration court system.

The Great Immigration Court Exodus?

The firings come as the U.S. immigration case backlog soars past a staggering three million pending cases. Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse reports that each immigration judge is now juggling an average of 4,500 cases. Yet instead of adding more judges to address the mounting crisis, the Trump administration appears to be hitting the reset button.

A Leadership Overhaul at EOIR

The firings weren’t limited to just immigration judges. Five top court officials were also replaced, including Mary Cheng, the acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). The EOIR, which oversees the nation’s immigration courts, was already under scrutiny for its handling of cases.

In a memo dated January 27, Sirce Owen, the acting director of the Department of Justice, accused the Biden administration of “severely undermining” the core values of EOIR. Owen declared that an effort to “restore those values” was underway, signaling a dramatic shift in approach under the Trump administration.

Trump’s “Probationary Purge” in Action?

Just one day before the firings, the Trump administration instructed federal agencies to lay off most probationary workers who do not have civil service protections—a move widely seen as a strategy to reshape the government workforce.

The International Federation of Professional & Technical Engineers, which represents federal employees, and the U.S. Justice Department’s EOIR, have yet to comment on the dismissals.

As immigration courts brace for even more chaos, the biggest question remains: Was this a bold move to “fix” the system, or a political shake-up with serious consequences? Either way, in true Trump fashion, Friday’s firings sent a clear message—“You’re fired!”