{"id":33889,"date":"2026-08-04T10:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/?p=33889"},"modified":"2026-08-04T10:05:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T15:05:00","slug":"immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fws_6a7225779bd92\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row\"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-animation-delay=\"\" data-bg-overlay=\"false\"><div class=\"inner-wrap row-bg-layer\" ><div class=\"row-bg viewport-desktop\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-8 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col padding-2-percent inherit_tablet inherit_phone\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Samuel Cole, a former immigration judge in Chicago, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decided to leave the judicial robes behind after the Trump administration began urging judges to follow orders or else.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf I wasn\u2019t going to be an independent judge, I wasn\u2019t going to be a judge,\u201d Cole said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cole is one of several former immigration judges in Chicago and Boston who told Borderless they felt increasing pressure from President Donald Trump\u2019s administration to deny immigrants bond, increase deportations and deny asylum applications. Some believe they lost their jobs for refusing to comply with the administration\u2019s pressure.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t<div id=\"fws_6a7225779ce5e\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row vc_row-o-equal-height vc_row-flex vc_row-o-content-middle large top_margin_20px bottom_margin_20px\"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-animation-delay=\"\" data-bg-overlay=\"true\"><div class=\"inner-wrap row-bg-layer\" ><div class=\"row-bg viewport-desktop\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row-bg-overlay row-bg-layer\" style=\"background: ##FFFFFF; background: linear-gradient(90deg,##FFFFFF 0%,##FFFFFF 100%);  opacity: 1; \"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col padding-3-percent force-phone-text-align-center inherit_tablet inherit_phone border_top_desktop_1px border_bottom_desktop_1px border_color_000000 border_style_solid\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"fws_6a7225779d465\" data-midnight=\"\" data-column-margin=\"default\" class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row inner_row vc_row-o-equal-height vc_row-flex vc_row-o-content-middle\"  style=\"\"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\"> <div class=\"row-bg\" ><\/div> <\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12_inner col span_12  left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-7 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col child_column no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone\"   data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<h3 id=\"news-that-puts-power-under-the-spotlight-and-communities-at-the-center\"><strong>Noticias que ponen el poder en el punto de mira y a las comunidades en el centro.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Suscr\u00edbase a nuestro bolet\u00edn gratuito y reciba actualizaciones dos veces por semana. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div style=\"margin-top: -20px; \" class=\"vc_col-sm-5 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col child_column neg-marg no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone\"   data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"wpb_raw_code wpb_raw_html wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"_form_1\"><\/div><script src=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.bluelena.io\/f\/embed.php?id=1\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) declined to respond to specific questions, but a Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson provided a statement saying, &#8220;The Justice Department is restoring integrity to our immigration system by hearing cases fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly, in accordance with the law.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since January 2025, the Trump administration has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/09\/us\/politics\/trump-miller-immigration-judges-purge.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">fired over 100 immigration judges<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> y <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/global\/2026\/04\/28\/trump-hires-140-new-immigration-judges\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">appointed at least 140 new judges<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, many of whom were<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.military.com\/daily-news\/2025\/10\/03\/trump-administration-taps-army-reserve-and-national-guard-temporary-immigration-judges.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> military attorneys without immigration law<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> experience. Unlike most federal courts in the U.S., <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">immigration court operates within the executive branch rather than the judicial branch \u2014 leaving the court system subject to political<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tampering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s different now is the scale of changes. In addition to purging an unprecedented number of immigration judges, the Trump administration has <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.caribbeannationalweekly.com\/legal-news\/trump-administration-launches-removal-proceedings-for-26000-immigrants\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">initiated thousands of new removal proceedings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.migrationpolicy.org\/article\/trump-expedited-removal\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expanded its use of expedited removal hearings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> y <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/immpolicytracking.org\/policies\/eoir-issues-policy-memorandum-25-47-specifying-agency-adjudication-priorities\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">established strict case completion metrics<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"a-vulnerable-court-system\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A vulnerable court system<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Civil, criminal and appellate courts within the judicial branch are independent from the country\u2019s chief executive \u2014 the president \u2014 and his administration. Additionally, federal court judges typically have life tenure to protect them from political influence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In immigration courts, on the other hand, the court prosecutor and the judge both report up to the executive branch: the prosecutor to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the judge to the Department of Justice. Immigration judges also do not have the same employment protections as judges in other federal courts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The distinction becomes especially important when the president or other officials in their administration have strong stances on immigration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trump and his top administration officials have called immigrants \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trump-expected-highlight-murder-michigan-woman-immigration-speech-2024-04-02\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">animals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">,\u201d claimed they are \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/us\/trump-repeats-poisoning-blood-anti-immigrant-remark-2023-12-16\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">poisoning the blood of our country<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d and promised to carry out \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/12\/18\/politics\/border-czar-homan-trump-deportation-plans\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the largest deportation operation in American history<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the DOJ called on judges last year to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1404956\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">treat both immigrants and DHS prosecutors in court \u201cin a neutral, unbiased, and impartial manner,\u201d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it also advertised open positions on the immigration court bench as for \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/us-law-week\/trump-doj-recruits-deportation-judges-in-enforcement-effort\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">deportation judges<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\"\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Without the independence inherent to judicial courts, immigration judges, who have always been subject to \u201cpolitical tinkering,\u201d according to Cole, have now been forced to become instruments of these aims \u2014 and immigrants have paid the price. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"fws_6a7225779f30e\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row\"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-animation-delay=\"\" data-bg-overlay=\"false\"><div class=\"inner-wrap row-bg-layer\" ><div class=\"row-bg viewport-desktop\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-8 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col padding-2-percent inherit_tablet inherit_phone\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"fws_6a7225779fb88\" data-midnight=\"\" data-column-margin=\"default\" class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row inner_row\"  style=\"\"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\"> <div class=\"row-bg\" ><\/div> <\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12_inner col span_12  left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-12 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col child_column no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone border_bottom_desktop_1px border_color_000000 border_style_solid flex_gap_desktop_10px\"   data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_100 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_sep_color_black wpb_content_element vc_separator-has-text\" ><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_l\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span><h4 id=\"read-more-of-our-coverage\">M\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n<\/h4><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_r\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-inline-posts\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-inline-posts-container pk-inline-posts-template-list\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-columns=\"1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article id=\"post-33116\" class=\"post-33116 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail category-enforcementandcourts category-immigration-policy category-latest tag-publicdefendersunit\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-post-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-post-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-overlay pk-overlay-ratio pk-ratio-landscape\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-overlay-background\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/04\/24\/cook-county-public-defender-trump-detentions-immigration-law-court\/\" class=\"pk-overlay-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" src=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026.04.21_PublicDefenders_Cruz-CF-Featured-300x225.jpg\" class=\"attachment-pk-thumbnail size-pk-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"El defensor p\u00fablico del condado de Cook, Cruz Rodr\u00edguez, se sienta en su escritorio frente a su computadora. Un mazo y t\u00edtulos acad\u00e9micos est\u00e1n en los estantes detr\u00e1s de \u00e9l.\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-post-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<header>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"pk-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/04\/24\/cook-county-public-defender-trump-detentions-immigration-law-court\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Oficina del Defensor P\u00fablico del Condado de Cook Cre\u00f3 Una Unidad de Inmigraci\u00f3n Hace Cinco A\u00f1os. El \u00daltimo A\u00f1o la Puso a Prueba.<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"pk-post-meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"pk-meta-author meta-author\"><span class=\"author vcard\"><a class=\"url fn n\" href=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/author\/max-herman\/\" title=\"Ver todas las publicaciones de Aydali Campa\">Aydali Campa<\/a><\/span><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sep\">-<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"pk-meta-date meta-date\"><a href=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/04\/24\/cook-county-public-defender-trump-detentions-immigration-law-court\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">24 de abril de 2026<\/a><\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/header><!-- .entry-header -->\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .post-inner -->\n\n\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .post-outer -->\n\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sheila McNulty, formerly the chief immigration judge overseeing all U.S. immigration courts, said that the courts&#8217; placement within the executive branch is fundamental to their operation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIt&#8217;s an administrative law court. It&#8217;s not a court that functions independently of any entity. It is dependent on what the Attorney General and the administration set forth,\u201d McNulty said. \u201cIf you look at the actual job title for an immigration judge, they&#8217;re technically considered a Department of Justice attorney. They&#8217;re not technically called a judge in the sense of a judicial officer like you have in federal court.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">McNulty was among four top immigration officials Trump fired shortly after his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025. Many more have since lost their jobs. The Trump administration has purged more than 100 immigration court judges so far.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of the fired judges were appointed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/04\/09\/us\/politics\/trump-miller-immigration-judges-purge.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">under Democratic presidents, and many had worked as attorneys for immigrants and had asylum-granting rates higher than national averages<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, according to a New York Times analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/us-law-week\/fired-immigration-judges-test-trumps-executive-power-in-suits\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At least eight former judges<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have filed lawsuits alleging that the administration targeted them because of their gender, ethnicity or political leanings. Among them is Carla Espinoza, a former immigration judge in Chicago, who said that the long-standing vulnerability of immigration courts to executive whims is only just now becoming clear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere was this false sense of security\u201d during previous administrations, Espinoza said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cCertainly, different administrations changed priorities and sometimes the pace or the tone within the courts.&#8221; But the differences between past administrations, including &#8220;Trump 1.0&#8221; and other presidencies, were not that drastic, she continued.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;We&#8217;re only now seeing how truly exposed immigration courts are,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"img-with-aniamtion-wrap\" data-max-width=\"100%\" data-max-width-mobile=\"default\" data-shadow=\"none\" data-animation=\"none\" >\r\n      <div class=\"inner\">\r\n        <div class=\"hover-wrap\"> \r\n          <div class=\"hover-wrap-inner\">\r\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-with-animation skip-lazy\" data-delay=\"0\" height=\"1281\" width=\"1920\" data-animation=\"none\" src=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04.jpg\" alt=\"Immigration attorney Carla Espinoza poses for a photo in front of framed diplomas and press articles at her office in downtown Chicago.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-900x600.jpg 900w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-1500x1000.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-1245x830.jpg 1245w, https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.06.30_ImmigrationJudges_Espinoza_CF-04-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 1450px) 75vw, (min-width: 1000px) 85vw, 100vw\" \/>\r\n         <\/div>\r\n      <\/div><span class=\"vc_figure-caption ccfic-text media-caption\">Carla Espinoza, a former immigration judge in Chicago, says that there was a false sense of security in immigration court during previous administrations.<\/span><span class=\"media-credit\">Camilla Forte\/Borderless Magazine\/Catchlight Local\/Report for America<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t<div class=\"wpb_widgetised_column wpb_content_element\">\n\t\t<div id=\"sidebar\" data-nectar-ss=\"true\" class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div id=\"custom_html-4 1articleright\" class=\"widget_text widget widget_custom_html\"><h3 id=\"wordpress-popular-posts\" class=\"widget-title\">Entradas populares de WordPress<\/h3><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><h4 id=\"trending-posts\" class=\"widget-title\">Tendencias<\/h4><div class=\"wpp-shortcode\"><script type=\"application\/json\" data-id=\"wpp-shortcode-inline-js\">{\"title\":\"Trending Posts\",\"limit\":\"3\",\"offset\":0,\"range\":\"custom\",\"time_quantity\":\"124\",\"time_unit\":\"day\",\"freshness\":\"1\",\"order_by\":\"views\",\"post_type\":\"post\",\"pid\":\"\",\"exclude\":\"\",\"cat\":\"\",\"taxonomy\":\"category\",\"term_id\":\"\",\"author\":\"\",\"shorten_title\":{\"active\":false,\"length\":0,\"words\":false},\"post-excerpt\":{\"active\":false,\"length\":0,\"keep_format\":false,\"words\":false},\"thumbnail\":{\"active\":true,\"build\":\"predefined\",\"width\":\"240\",\"height\":\"160\"},\"rating\":false,\"stats_tag\":{\"comment_count\":false,\"views\":false,\"author\":false,\"date\":{\"active\":false,\"format\":\"F j, Y\"},\"category\":false,\"taxonomy\":{\"active\":false,\"name\":\"category\"}},\"markup\":{\"custom_html\":true,\"wpp-start\":\"&lt;ul class=&quot;wpp-list wpp-cardview&quot;&gt;\",\"wpp-end\":\"&lt;\\\/ul&gt;\",\"title-start\":\"&lt;h4 class=&quot;widget-title&quot;&gt;\",\"title-end\":\"&lt;\\\/h4&gt;\",\"post-html\":\"&lt;li&gt;{thumb} {title} {stats}&lt;\\\/li&gt;\"},\"theme\":{\"name\":\"\"}}<\/script><div class=\"wpp-shortcode-placeholder\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div> \n\t<\/div> \n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"fws_6a722577a3cbd\"  data-column-margin=\"default\" data-midnight=\"dark\"  class=\"wpb_row vc_row-fluid vc_row\"  style=\"padding-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; \"><div class=\"row-bg-wrap\" data-bg-animation=\"none\" data-bg-animation-delay=\"\" data-bg-overlay=\"false\"><div class=\"inner-wrap row-bg-layer\" ><div class=\"row-bg viewport-desktop\"  style=\"\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row_col_wrap_12 col span_12 dark left\">\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-8 wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col padding-1-percent inherit_tablet inherit_phone\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the rush to remove judges, the DOJ also appears to have terminated two judges by mistake, believing they were probationary employees, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/washingtonlitigationgroup.org\/news\/wlg-files-appellate-brief-defending-civil-service\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to a court brief filed by the Washington Litigation Group<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, which represents the judges. The group argues that the firings violate the Civil Service Reform Act, which protects millions of federal employees from discrimination and retaliation. In response, the Trump administration has argued that the CSRA violates the executive powers granted to the president under Article II of the Constitution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"these-are-not-real-judges\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018These are not real judges\u2019<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Underlying the tensions between immigration judges and the president is the Executive Office of Immigration Review. Established by the Attorney General in 1983, the EOIR oversees both the immigration court system and the Board of Immigration Appeals, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">which reviews appeals of immigration judges\u2019 decisions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although the Executive Office of Immigration Review does not directly dictate individual case outcomes, its impact on courtrooms is difficult to overstate. According to federal regulations, the EOIR can regulate case time frames and priority, assign cases and dockets to courts and judges, and evaluate the performance of immigration judges. DOJ leadership generally does not need to wait on Congress or higher courts to enact changes to the operation of immigration courts. They need only release a memo.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Karen Musalo, professor and chair in international law at the University of California, San Francisco, oversight by the DOJ and EOIR severely limits immigration judges\u2019 ability to rule independently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe people above them who are their supervisors, who are their bosses in the so-called chain of command, are within the DOJ, are within the Executive Office of Immigration Review,\u201d Musalo explained. \u201cThey are the ones who set policy and directives for the judges to follow, and that is so antithetical to our concept of independent judges. If you get in your head that these are not real judges, they are Justice Department employees, then all of this becomes a little bit clearer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the current Trump administration, the EOIR has issued a slew of policy memos outlining updated expectations to increase efficiency. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1388056\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">February 2025 memo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> restored policies from Trump\u2019s first administration that required judges to complete asylum hearings within 180 days and urged judges not to grant continuances, a common mechanism that allows immigrants more time to find attorneys.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t<div class=\"wpb_raw_code wpb_raw_html wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"flourish-embed flourish-chart\" data-src=\"visualisation\/29101579\"><script src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/resources\/embed.js\"><\/script><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/public.flourish.studio\/visualisation\/29101579\/thumbnail\" width=\"100%\" alt=\"visualizaci\u00f3n de gr\u00e1ficos\" \/><\/noscript><\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Una <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1396411\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">April 2025 memo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pushed judges to \u201cpretermit\u201d more asylum cases, denying asylum requests without ever holding a hearing. Other memos warned judges they would be evaluated for issuing decisions that were \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1411796\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">adjudicatory outliers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d and imposed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1413981\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">case-completion benchmarks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">meaning judges whose decisions did not match the new administration\u2019s priorities \u2014 both in terms of case outcomes and speed \u2014 could be reprimanded or worse<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Former immigration judge Cole said he was used to pushing back against time pressures imposed by previous presidential administrations<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But he saw the writing on the wall early in 2025 when memoranda began to trickle down, pushing judges to adhere to the new administration\u2019s priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cOne of them says, you\u2019re fine here as long as you\u2019re loyal to the policies of this administration. So that got me. I\u2019m loyal to my oath,\u201d Cole said. He now <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">works as the senior supervising attorney and chief immigration litigation counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The entwined relationship between immigration court judges and DHS prosecutors became even more difficult to navigate in May last year. On May 20, 2025, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/immpolicytracking.org\/policies\/ice-arrests-and-detains-noncitizens-attending-immigration-court-hearings\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sent a memo to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/immpolicytracking.org\/policies\/ice-arrests-and-detains-noncitizens-attending-immigration-court-hearings\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DHS <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">prosecutors instructing them to file motions in immigration court to dismiss cases and to coordinate the timing of these motions with ICE so that agents could be present outside the courtrooms. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aila.org\/library\/practice-alert-eoir-guidance-to-immigration-judges-on-dismissals-and-other-adjudications\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ten days later, <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the DOJ sent an email to immigration judges urging them to grant motions to dismiss. In <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/ice-ending-migrants-court-cases-arrest-move-to-deport-them\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Las Vegas, Miami and Seattle, immigrants emerging from courtrooms where their cases had just been dismissed were detained and processed for expedited removal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After receiving the DOJ email, former immigration judge George Pappas said he went immediately to the assistant chief immigration judge in Boston \u2014 where he worked \u2014 for clarification. He said the assistant chief told him to grant the motions to dismiss unless those government motions were defective.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo here I am getting direct pressure from my assistant chief immigration judge to grant the motions to dismiss knowing that they\u2019ll be arrested as soon as they walk out,\u201d Pappas said. \u201cOf course, I didn\u2019t grant a single one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pappas said he was notified of his termination less than a month later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since McNulty, Espinoza, Pappas and over 100 other immigration judges were fired last year, many of the immigration judges who remained on the bench\u00a0 \u2014 as well as those hired by the Trump administration to fill new vacancies \u2014 have acquiesced to the pressure. The asylum-granting rate decreased by nearly <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/tracreports.org\/reports\/766\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">half<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from August 2024 to August 2025, according to federal data analyzed by Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"more-appeals-than-ever\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">More appeals than ever<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Board of Immigration Appeals sits above the country\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/office-of-the-chief-immigration-judge\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">73<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> immigration courts and reviews immigration court decisions that are challenged by immigrants or the government. Like immigration courts, the board exists within the DOJ, and its judges are lawyers hired by the U.S. Attorney General.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSo they have the same inherent pressures that we have to deal with, the same problem,\u201d explained Pappas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The majority of board decisions affect only the individual case brought before the board. Other board rulings are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecfr.gov\/current\/title-8\/chapter-I\/subchapter-B\/part-103\/subpart-A\/section-103.10\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">precedential,<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> establishing rules that judges are supposed to follow when deciding cases with similar facts. These precedents apply to immigration courts nationwide and become binding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Immigrants or their representatives can file lawsuits in a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/us\/sites\/en-us\/files\/legacy-pdf\/5cfea8984.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">federal circuit court of appeals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> challenging either type of board decision, thereby moving the case out of the executive branch and into the judicial branch.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But unless immigrants go through this lengthy and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.brennancenter.org\/our-work\/research-reports\/empty-promise-board-immigration-appeals\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expensive<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> appeals process, their cases remain situated within the executive branch and subject to the political pressures that come with it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cImagine if you&#8217;re a detainee or you&#8217;re a person working a minimum wage job with a family and you want to exercise your rights and you want to pursue relief,\u201d said Espinoza. \u201cBut then you have to be involved in not only the proceedings before the immigration court, then an appeal, and then finally a petition for review before a Circuit Court of Appeals. It\u2019s a big legal undertaking, and so the ability for a lot of individuals to pursue those appeals is curtailed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In February 2025, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi reduced the immigration appeals board from 28 to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2025\/04\/14\/2025-06294\/reducing-the-size-of-the-board-of-immigration-appeals\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">15 miembros permanentes<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. All Biden appointees were forced out, and the current board consists almost entirely of members appointed by a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/board-of-immigration-appeals#board\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ttorneys general under either the first or second Trump administration<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIn the last year and three months since Trump took over, the pattern has been to just ram a whole lot of decisions, denying a lot of cases, overturning precedential decisions, definitely overturning years and years and years of case law,\u201d said McNulty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Musalo said that politicization of the Board of Immigration Appeals is nothing new. Prior to the second Trump administration, the most radical restructuring of the board occurred in the years immediately following the Sept.11 attacks in 2001<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, when border control and immigration enforcement became permanent fixtures of national security.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2002, George W. Bush-appointee Attorney General John Ashcroft reduced the size of the appeals board from 19 to 11 by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2025\/03\/trump-immigration-courts-firing-doge-nonsensical-system-collapse-eoir\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">firing judges seen as pro-immigrant.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Ashcroft also made it possible for a single member, rather than a panel of three, to decide a case.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like changes made during the second Trump administration, many of Ashcroft\u2019s reforms were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/chicagounbound.uchicago.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=5377&amp;context=uclrev\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">challenged in court but largely remained <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">intact, though attorneys general over the next 22 years gradually increased the number of board members. In the four years immediately following Ashcroft\u2019s 2002 reforms, the Board of Immigration Appeals\u2019 decisions favoring immigrants <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gao.gov\/assets\/gao-08-940.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decreased by half<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The percentage of board decisions favoring DHS ranged from 45% to 75% during the Obama and Biden years, but in the first year of Trump\u2019s second term, 97% of decisions ruled against immigrants in favor of DHS. The board also issued <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/03\/20\/nx-s1-5707535\/trump-immigration-detention-appeals-board-deportation\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">70<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> precedential decisions in 2025, the highest since 2009, meaning Trump administration policy will govern the board\u2019s decisions long after he has left office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A DOJ spokesperson said, \u201cThe Board of Immigration Appeals decisions reflect straightforward interpretations of clear statutory language. President Trump and the Department of Justice will continue to enforce the law as it is written to defend and protect the safety and security of the American people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the meantime, more immigrants than ever are appealing their cases to the Board of Immigration Appeals, with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/eoir\/media\/1344986\/dl?inline\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">99,603 cases appealed in 2025<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, nearly double the cases appealed the year before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Espinoza, who now practices as an immigration attorney, said that many immigrants\u2019 only recourse will be to file petitions for review of the board\u2019s decisions in the hopes that they will be taken up by the federal circuit court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cNow that the board is what it is, you have to go that extra mile,\u201d she said. \u201cIt&#8217;s expensive and takes a lot of time, but up until that point, you\u2019re stuck within a rigged system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Molly A. Wallace is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University\u2019s Medill School of Journalism. <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This story was produced as part of a collaboration between Borderless Magazine and the Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n\n\t<div  class=\"vc_col-sm-2 vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs wpb_column column_container vc_column_container col no-extra-padding inherit_tablet inherit_phone flex_gap_desktop_10px\"  data-padding-pos=\"all\" data-has-bg-color=\"false\" data-bg-color=\"\" data-bg-opacity=\"1\" data-animation=\"\" data-delay=\"0\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"vc_column-inner\" >\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> \n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div> \n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Immigration judges are Justice Department employees. The Trump administration is using that system to fire judges, set new priorities and reshape the court at an unprecedented scale. <\/p>","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":33960,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[829,855,1],"tags":[988],"coauthors":[981],"class_list":{"0":"post-33889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-enforcementandcourts","8":"category-featured","9":"category-immigration-policy","10":"tag-immigrationjudges2026"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.1 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Featured &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Featured &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Borderless Magazine NFP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BorderlessMagazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aydali Campa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Escrito por\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Max Herman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Tiempo de lectura\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutos\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label3\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data3\" content=\"Aydali Campa\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Max Herman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96eda84bde3c5e7c87bf93ff9a377514\"},\"headline\":\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits.\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":3792,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ImmigrationJudges2026\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Enforcement and Courts\",\"Featured\",\"Immigration Policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/es\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/\",\"name\":\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/04\\\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Four immigration judges, looking confused and upset, walk towards the exit in a courtroom in an illustration.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/\",\"name\":\"Borderless Magazine NFP\",\"description\":\"Stories about immigration and immigrants\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"Borderless\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"es\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Borderless Magazine NFP\",\"alternateName\":\"Borderless Mag\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/BorderlessLogo_main_square.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/08\\\/BorderlessLogo_main_square.jpg\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"Borderless Magazine NFP\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/BorderlessMagazine\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/borderless_mag\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.tiktok.com\\\/@borderless_mag\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/96eda84bde3c5e7c87bf93ff9a377514\",\"name\":\"Max Herman\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"es\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g694fef07c61742bd4b260741b2f07524\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Max Herman\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/borderlessmag.org\\\/es\\\/author\\\/max-herman\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","description":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/","og_locale":"es_MX","og_type":"article","og_title":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Featured &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","og_description":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Featured &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","og_url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/","og_site_name":"Borderless Magazine NFP","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BorderlessMagazine","article_published_time":"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Aydali Campa","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Escrito por":"Max Herman","Tiempo de lectura":"11 minutos","Written by":"Aydali Campa"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/"},"author":{"name":"Max Herman","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#\/schema\/person\/96eda84bde3c5e7c87bf93ff9a377514"},"headline":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits.","datePublished":"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/"},"wordCount":3792,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg","keywords":["ImmigrationJudges2026"],"articleSection":["Enforcement and Courts","Featured","Immigration Policy"],"inLanguage":"es","copyrightYear":"2026","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/","url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/","name":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-04T15:01:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-04T15:05:00+00:00","description":"Immigration Courts Were Never Independent. Why The President Is Testing The Limits. &#8211; Borderless Magazine NFP","inLanguage":"es","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/2026\/08\/04\/immigration-judges-president-donald-trump-reshaped-court-system\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026.08.18_Judges_Featued_KR.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"caption":"Four immigration judges, looking confused and upset, walk towards the exit in a courtroom in an illustration."},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/","name":"Revista Borderless NFP","description":"Historias sobre inmigraci\u00f3n e inmigrantes","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#organization"},"alternateName":"Borderless","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"es"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#organization","name":"Revista Borderless NFP","alternateName":"Borderless Mag","url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BorderlessLogo_main_square.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/BorderlessLogo_main_square.jpg","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"Borderless Magazine NFP"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BorderlessMagazine","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/borderless_mag\/","https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@borderless_mag"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/#\/schema\/person\/96eda84bde3c5e7c87bf93ff9a377514","name":"Max Herman","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"es","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g694fef07c61742bd4b260741b2f07524","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5e8e57236ed67b3fb29c65f7a455c224356cc054b322c92ba7bce6669bf36186?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Max Herman"},"url":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/author\/max-herman\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/122"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33889"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33966,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33889\/revisions\/33966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33889"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/borderlessmag.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=33889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}