Across the country, immigration judges are being dismissed from their courtrooms — not for misconduct or poor performance, but for who they are and what they’ve done.

In the past year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has fired at least 70 immigration judges, many with backgrounds in immigrant defense or humanitarian law.

Some learned they’d been terminated in the middle of hearings, in front of families waiting years for their day in court. Others were escorted out of buildings without explanation.

These firings have disrupted thousands of active cases and left entire courtrooms empty — while the immigration backlog continues to grow, pushing hearings as far out as 2029. Even more alarming, analysis shows that judges with prior experience defending immigrants were twice as likely to be fired as those with backgrounds in enforcement.

This looks less like impartial administration and more like political interference. The United States cannot claim to uphold justice when the very people trusted to interpret immigration law are being punished for their perspectives or professional histories.

We call on:

• Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to immediately reinstate the fired immigration judges and issue a public explanation of these dismissals.
• Congress’s Judiciary Committees to hold oversight hearings into political interference at the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).
• Lawmakers to support legislation establishing an independent immigration court system, separate from the DOJ, so judges can rule without fear of retaliation.
   

Immigration courts decide questions of life, family, and freedom. When those courts lose their independence, the entire justice system is at risk.

This isn’t about politics — it’s about fairness, integrity, and the rule of law.

Sign to demand the immediate restoration of fired immigration judges and lasting protections for judicial independence in America’s immigration courts.

Photo: Minh Connors/AP