The Trump administration has removed at least seven New York immigration judges, marking a significant escalation in a broad national reshaping of federal immigration courts. The action follows similar terminations in multiple states and comes as officials continue to assert expansive presidential authority to dismiss immigration judges, who are classified as inferior officers.
Personnel Shake-Up Intensifies in New York’s Immigration Courts
The Trump administration expanded its restructuring of the federal immigration court system on Monday, dismissing at least seven judges stationed at New York City’s 26 Federal Plaza. According to internal Justice Department directories and statements from the National Association of Immigration Judges, the firings took effect without prior notice and without any official explanation.
The move adds to an ongoing personnel overhaul that began early in the president’s second term and has increasingly targeted some of the busiest immigration court jurisdictions. New York, long positioned at the center of immigration enforcement activity and public demonstrations, has emerged as a primary location for these staffing reductions.
Nationwide Turnover Puts Added Pressure on the Court System
The American Immigration Lawyers Association reports that more than 100 immigration judges have been removed or pressured to resign this year, out of an estimated 700 nationwide. The organization warns that the resulting drop in judicial capacity is straining an already burdened system responsible for processing expanding enforcement actions and removal cases.
Immigration judges serve in the Executive Office for Immigration Review within the U.S. Department of Justice rather than in the federal judiciary. Administration officials argue that both the president and Attorney General Pam Bondi hold apparent constitutional authority to remove these judges at will. The Justice Department declined to address the New York dismissals directly, citing personnel confidentiality rules.
Dismissals Extend Beyond New York as Legal Disputes Mount
Similar personnel actions were carried out last month in San Francisco, Boston, and additional New York courtrooms. On the same day the latest New York terminations became public, a former immigration judge in Ohio filed a federal lawsuit claiming her February dismissal was unlawful and politically driven. Her case joins a growing list of legal challenges questioning the administration’s interpretation of removal authority.
Among the seven New York judges dismissed was Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Amiena Khan. Khan previously spoke out against a Justice Department effort to dissolve the immigration judges’ union during Trump’s first term and later served as the union’s president beginning in 2021. By Tuesday, her name and those of six other female judges no longer appeared in the court’s public directory.
Five of the dismissed judges were initially appointed during Democratic administrations, while two were selected by former Attorney General William Barr during Trump’s first term. Following these changes, New York’s roster now lists 25 permanent immigration judges.
What Comes Next?
Analysts expect additional personnel changes as the administration continues asserting broad dismissal authority across the nation’s immigration courts. The evolving structure could shift case timelines, intensify debates over judicial independence, and reshape long-term operations within the federal immigration adjudication system.
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