Overview
- Christopher Day, an Army Reserve JAG serving as a temporary immigration judge in Annandale, Virginia, was dismissed around Dec. 2 after roughly five weeks on the bench, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges.
- Federal data analyzed by Mobile Pathways show Day granted asylum or other relief in six of the 11 cases he decided in November.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized detailing up to 600 military lawyers; about 30 have been deployed, and in November they ordered removal in 78% of decided cases compared with 63% for other judges, with roughly nine in ten migrants before them removed or self-deporting.
- The Justice Department has reshaped the bench by dismissing scores of career judges and recruiting new hires under postings labeled “deportation judge,” while an April EOIR memo instructed judges to dismiss some asylum claims without hearings.
- Advocacy groups and some lawmakers cite due‑process concerns, warning that temporary and military judges lack standard civil‑service protections and alleging at least $2 billion in defense funds have been redirected to support the effort.