US justice department recruiting legal experts to serve as ‘deportation’ judges

The US justice department is recruiting legal experts to serve as so-called “deportation” judges as part of the Trump administration’s effort to carry out its immigration crackdown. “If you are a legal professional, the Trump Administration is calling on YOU to join @TheJusticeDept as a Deportation Judge to restore integrity and honor to our Nation’s Immigration Court system,” said Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, on Thursday in a post on X. The Department of Justice (DoJ), which oversees the nation’s immigration court system, also posted a recruitment ad, where prospective applicants can “become a deportation judge” and “define America for generations”. Related: How Trump has turned the legal system ‘on its head’ to meet deportation goals While these advertisements use the phrase “deportation judge”, the government application portal still lists the official job title as “immigration judge”. The justice department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian. Immigrants and asylum seekers appear before an immigration judge for several reasons, including to make their case for protection, attain lawful permanent residence or halt their proceedings while they pursue other immigration relief. But generally, people are before a judge because they are fighting their removal to their home country. This year, the Trump administration has been purging immigration judges whose judicial philosophies do not align with the administration’s priorities. Some have also chosen to leave since Trump took office. Because of this, and an already backlogged court system, the government started recruiting hundreds of military lawyers to serve as immigration judges. The recruitment of military lawyers came after the DoJ’s executive office for immigration review (EOIR) relaxed rules in August so that any lawyer could serve as a temporary immigration judge. Related: ‘Like the Gestapo’: trailblazing immigration judge on Ice brutality and Trump’s damage to the courts Two judges in New York, for example, were laid off after one of them had the highest rate in the city for granting asylum, and the other had been an outspoken critic of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). More terminations took place in San Francisco, Chicago and Boston, suggesting the Trump administration is targeting sanctuary cities. The latest recruitment effort this week tells applicants that, if hired, they will have the power to “determine whether an alien has to leave the United States or gets to stay” and to “ensure that only aliens with legally meritorious claims are allowed to remain”. The pay range is $159,951 to $207,500, Noem said on Thursday. A cash incentive is also provided for those in cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco, according to the ad.