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The Department of Justice has removed more than 20 immigration judges, including assistant chief judges and newly appointed officials.

Some shit you should know before you read: Shortly after President Trump took office, his administration moved quickly to remove appointees across various federal agencies, including inspector generals, career officials, and judges, as part of a broader effort to reshape the government workforce. High-ranking officials in departments such as the Department of Justice, the State Department, and the Department of Homeland Security were among those dismissed or pressured to resign. In addition to direct firings, Trump’s team introduced large-scale buyout offers, encouraging career officials to voluntarily leave their positions in exchange for financial incentives.

What’s going on now: Over the weekend, the DOJ removed more than 20 immigration judges, including five assistant chief immigration judges and 13 newly appointed judges who had not yet been sworn in. The firings were carried out by Sirce Owen, the acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), a division of the DOJ responsible for overseeing the immigration court system. While no official reason was provided for the dismissals, many of the removed judges were appointed during the Biden administration, leading to allegations that the decision was politically motivated. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), the union representing immigration judges, confirmed that the firings included both experienced judges in leadership roles and newly appointed judges who had been preparing to take the bench.

One of the dismissed judges, Kerry Doyle, who President Biden had appointed, spoke out on LinkedIn, expressing anger over the abrupt terminations. Doyle, a former deputy general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security under Biden, criticized the decision, stating, “This firing occurred despite the fact that the Immigration Court currently has in the neighborhood of 3.5 MILLION pending cases and DOJ is asking Congress for more money to hire more people at EOIR!”

Doyle went on to suggest that the firings were politically motivated, targeting Biden-era appointees as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the immigration judiciary.

This all comes as President Trump has repeatedly criticized the role of immigration judges in the US, often expressing frustration over cases where illegal immigrants were released and later committed violent crimes. He has frequently pointed to cases where illegal immigrants released on bond or parole were later involved in violent crimes, using these incidents to push for stricter immigration policies and harsher enforcement measures.