The #military will begin sending groups of 150 attorneys — both military & civilians — to the #DOJ “as soon as practicable” & the military services should have the first round of people identified by next week, acc/to the memo, dated Aug. 27.

The effort comes as the #Trump admin cracks down on #immigration across the country, ramping up #arrests & #deportations. Immigration courts also already are dealing with a massive backlog of ~3.5M cases that has ballooned in recent years.

#law #judiciary

This is 100% NOT how judges are appointed!

So totally illegal!!!

Okay #ImmigrationJudges are different. Unfortunately.

Immigration judges act as representatives of the #USAG & can only act acc/to authority delegated by the AG or by the #Immigration & Nationality Act (#INA). They are not part of the judicial branch of govt, but are quasi-judicials, formerly known as “special inquiry officers”.

Still, I don’t know how you can have #MILITARY lawyers in the role.

#law
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/8/1003.0

Unlike courts in the #judicial branch, where the Senate confirms #judges to life tenure to ensure their #independence, #immigration courts are part of the #ExecutiveBranch. They are run by the #DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (#EOIR). Still, while #ImmigrationJudges are department employees, they are supposed to act as neutral arbiters.

#Trump #law #ImmigrationLaw #judiciary #Pentagon #MilitaryLawyers #military #MilitaryState

Not coincidentally, last Thursday, the #DOJ published a rule change on the website of the Federal Register relaxing criteria for who can serve as a temporary #immigration judge. It eliminated a requirement that such judges have substantial experience in #ImmigrationLaw, or that they must already be serving as administrative law judges (#ALJ) at other agencies.

https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-08-28/pdf/2025-16573.pdf

#Trump #law #judiciary #Pentagon #MilitaryLawyers #military #ImmigrationJudges #judges #MilitaryState

The #DOJ may now designate “any lawyer” as a temporary immigration judge for 6 months — a period that can be renewed indefinitely. The #Trump admin claimed that the change promoted increased “flexibility,” while rejecting critics who raised doubts about whether it would increase the risk of biased judges.

#law #judiciary #Pentagon #MilitaryLawyers #ImmigrationJudges #military #DOJ #immigration #judges #MilitaryState

It’s also important to remember that shortly after taking office, #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth fired the top #JAG officers of the #Army & #AirForce. The position at the #Navy was already vacant. Hegseth has long expressed hostility toward #MilitaryLawyers.

He has called them “jagoffs,” & complained they unduly restricted rules of engagement on the battlefield. He also questioned whether it made sense to obey the #GenevaConventions, a core ethos of JAG lawyers.

#Trump #law #immigration #military

“This would be #unlawful,” added Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles who was an #AirForce #JAG.

In particular, VanLandingham said, turning #MilitaryLawyers into #ImmigrationJudges would likely violate the #PosseComitatusAct, a federal #law that bars US troops from participating in #civilian #LawEnforcement or “executing the laws,” unless otherwise authorized to do so by the #Constitution or #Congress.

#Trump #military #immigration
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/trump-administration-military-lawyers-jags-immigration-court-judges/

It’s “frightening,”VanLandingham said of the plan, because “the use of #military courts to hear #civilian cases is the essential component of #MartialLaw.”

“What you end up with,” Maurer added, “is military officers under #federal control who are running civilian courts.”

#Trump #law #ImmigrationLaw #judiciary #Pentagon #MilitaryLawyers #JAG #ImmigrationJudges #PosseComitatusAct #DOJ #immigration #judges #MilitaryState