By Gonzalez Olivieri, on Immigration Updates
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department to serve as temporary immigration judges. The military will begin sending groups of 150 attorneys to address the significant backlog in immigration courts. This authorization will effectively double the ranks of immigration judges, representing an unprecedented move to use military legal personnel in civilian immigration proceedings.
This rare Pentagon decision comes as the Trump administration looks to speed up deportations and tackle the substantial caseload facing immigration courts nationwide. A White House official said Tuesday that the Trump administration is looking at a variety of options to help resolve the significant backlog of immigration cases. The deployment of military attorneys to civilian immigration courts marks a significant escalation in the administration's efforts to expedite immigration proceedings and enforcement actions.
For more information on this, and other immigration matters, contact the attorneys at Gonzalez Olivieri LLC today.
Reference:
Pentagon Authorizes up to 600 Military Lawyers to Serve as Temporary Immigration Judges, U.S. NEWS (Sept. 2, 2025), https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2025-09-02/pentagon-authorizes-up-to-600-military-lawyers-to-serve-as-temporary-immigration-judges.
