Accommodation New Zealand introduces
In an apparent effort to address the millions of backlogged immigration cases, the Justice Department made a rule change to allow attorneys without immigration law experience to act as temporary immigration judges.
The DOJ's Office of Immigration Review published the rule in the federal register Thursday, which removes the requirement that temporary immigration judges have substantive prior experience in immigration law.
Jurists who are approved by Attorney General Pam Bondi may serve as immigration judges, which represents a tide change after more than 100 judges were fired or bought out by the Trump administration earlier in 2025.
The DOJ hopes that by expanding the net as to who may hear immigration-related cases, the more than three million case backlog may finally be assuaged.
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The "department no longer believes the restriction of TIJs to current department employees with a threshold level of immigration law experience serves EOIR's interests," the entry in the federal register read.
"Immigration law experience is not always a strong predictor of success as an (immigration judge) and EOIR has hired individuals from other federal agencies and Department components without prior immigration experience who have become successful and exemplary (immigration judges)," it went on.
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The rule further stated that there is no clear reason why attorneys who have argued before prominent courts on nonimmigration matters or clerked for the Supreme Court should be disqualified from serving in an immigration-related capacity.
The "need for assistance in fairly and efficiently adjudicating immigration cases has only increased since EOIR first adopted a plan to utilize TIJs in 2014. However, that original plan has proven largely ineffectual, requiring the agency to update it in order to ensure a more robust applicant pool to provide the assistance EOIR needs," the rule later stated, adding it allows for the "greatest degree of flexibility" in finding highly qualified temporary immigration judge candidates.
Dozens of immigration judges were fired as of July, with some filing formal appeals of their dismissals.
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Some of those sent packing claimed that prior decisions, gender discrimination and, in one case, a courthouse tour given to Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., are behind the decisions.
The Justice Department referred Fox News Digital to a background section in the federal register that said that the rule change is meant to "assist with the immigration courts' substantial caseload."
"The EOIR director, with the approval of the attorney general, may designate or select TIJs, which have the authority of an IJ to adjudicate assigned cases and administer immigration court matters," it continued in part.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
