Thank you as always to those who share their stories with me, have me in their courtrooms and take the time to explain the nuances. Have a listen to the radio: www.npr.org/2025/11/05/n...

But the patterns in hiring, rehiring + firing do highlight priorities for this administration as they know more people will go through immigration courts as more are arrested. And they have criticized the makeup of the court as “inferior” and not committed to upholding the law.

There are exceptions to the patterns (as in most trends) and the patterns don’t indicate intent, since we still don’t know. But 11 new permanent judges, with long law enforcement backgrounds, were recently added to the bench. To be clear - that doesn’t mean they’re not fair.

Fired immigration judges tell me they weren’t given a reason for their terminations. 12 were terminated after their 2 year probationary period. For months, dozens told me they worried their background in immigrant defense resulted in terminations. So I wanted to do the math.

Immigration judges come from various backgrounds. Historically, they did come from an enforcement (ICE) legal career. These courts are under the DOJ, which experts say has always limited the separation between policy enforcement and adjudication of cases. Now that’s being tested.

One of the GSA employees said ICE has urgently requested the agency find around 300 fully furnished properties with private office space to lease by this winter.

Story from @jennamclaughlin.bsky.social @ximenabustillo.bsky.social + me