DOJ has fired at least 130 immigration judges since January 2025, shrinking the corps by about a quarter; most of those with public data had above-average asylum grant rates.
Subject of this story
Also named
What happened
Just Security reported that at least 130 immigration judges were terminated between January 2025 and June 2026: at least 108 trial-level judges, 13 assistant chief immigration judges and nine Board of Immigration Appeals members. Among 78 removed judges with public asylum data, 68% had grant rates above both the national and their court's averages and 83% exceeded at least one benchmark. OPB reported the permanent judge corps fell from 726 on February 4, 2025 to 520 about a year later, with 12 courts losing more than half their judges and two courts with no permanent judges. On March 28, 2025, Sen. Dick Durbin, Rep. Jamie Raskin and other Democrats wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi calling the firings unjustified and asking her to reverse course; Durbin said in August 2025 that DOJ had not responded.
By the numbers (2)
● confirmed by a primary document · ○ reported
Figures
1 source
- Just Security
At least 130 immigration judges were terminated between January 2025 and June 2026
1 source
- OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
down from 726 permanent judges on Feb. 4, 2025 to 520 judges by late February 2026
Sources (3)
Response
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
Not yet contacted for this story.
Not yet contacted for this story.
What happened next (0)
No outcome recorded yet.