Defense Dept. to send up to 600 military attorneys to serve as immigration judges

Washington — The Defense Department is considering authorizing up to 600 military attorneys to serve as temporary immigration judges, a defense official confirmed.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that at the request of the Justice Department, the Defense Department is in the process of "identifying qualified Judge Advocates and civilian attorneys for details to serve as Temporary Immigration Judges."

Parnell said the Defense Department attorneys would help with the backlog of cases "by presiding over immigration hearings." The Associated Press first reported the Pentagon's plans.

The immigration courts are struggling with a backlog of more than 3.4 million cases. But the plan to turn possibly hundreds of military lawyers into immigration judges comes after the Trump administration has fired more than two dozen immigration judges nationwide so far this year. Unlike federal district court judges, immigration judges work for the Justice Department.

Judge Advocate General Corps officers are tasked with providing legal support to service members and their families or advising commanders on the legalities of warfare. The defense lawyers would likely need to undergo some training in immigration law, procedure and policy.

CBS News on Thursday obtained an email that the Defense Department sent to military lawyers in the U.S. Army Reserve on Wednesday seeking 100 volunteers to serve as immigration judges in the Justice Department for a period of 179 days.

"Applicants must demonstrate a record of sound judgment, legal expertise, analytical ability, wisdom, discernment, and impartiality, along with a professional demeanor, a suitable temperament for the role of a TIJ [Temporary Immigration Judge], and strong written and oral communication skills," the email reads.

In the email, the Defense Department urged military lawyers to volunteer because they "will be directly contributing to the resolution of millions of pending immigration cases, reinforcing the Army Reserve's value to the Nation."

The Trump administration loosened the job requirements for temporary immigration judges last month, allowing a wider group of government lawyers to handle cases in immigration court. Its new rule, published in the Federal Register in late August, states that the Justice Department "no longer believes the restriction of [temporary immigration judges] to current Department employees with a threshold level of immigration law experience serves [the Executive Office for Immigration Review's] interests."

Previously, only Justice Department lawyers with a decade of immigration law experience or former immigration judges could fill those roles.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association criticized the plan in a statement after the new rule was published.

"While DoD attorneys may be well suited to handle military matters, immigration law is entirely different and exceptionally complex," AILA said. "It makes as much sense as having a cardiologist do a hip replacement."

"The work of immigration judges has been described as life and death decisions in traffic court conditions," the statement continued. "Expecting fair decisions from judges unfamiliar with the law is absurd. This reckless move guts due process and further undermines the integrity of our immigration court system."

The group called on Congress to use its oversight powers "to defend the rule of law and protect the independence of the immigration judiciary."

In Florida, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has already proposed loaning National Guard troops to the federal government for use as immigration judges. He said in May that his office had submitted a proposal to the Trump administration that would activate the nine Florida National Guard members who are Judge Advocate General Corps officers to serve as immigration judges, which legal experts told CBS News is unprecedented.

Typically, when National Guard troops help after a hurricane or secure a protest site, they remain under the command of their state governor, under Title 32 of the U.S. Code. Under DeSantis' plan, the state would relinquish control of these officers to Washington. Title 10 would snap into place, reassigning the JAG officers under the command of the president and defense secretary. This grants them eligibility to serve as federal immigration judges, appointed by the U.S. attorney general.

The Justice Department will pick up the tab for the operation if adopted. It plans to train the officers over six weeks — a crash course in immigration law, procedure and policy. Each officer would need to pass a written exam before donning the judge's robe.

— Camilo Montoya-Galvez and Josh Gross contributed to this report.

• Immigration
• Pentagon
• United States Department of Defense