A US Army Reserve lawyer assigned as a federal immigration judge has been dismissed after just over a month in the role, following a series of asylum rulings that contradicted the Trump administration's deportation agenda. Christopher Day, a lieutenant colonel in the Judge Advocate General's Corps, began hearing cases in late October at the immigration court in Annandale, Virginia, and was fired around 2 December, according to the National Association of Immigration Judges.
Federal data from November shows that Day granted asylum or other relief allowing migrants to remain in the United States in six of the 11 cases he concluded that month. Such favourable outcomes for migrants have become increasingly rare as the administration seeks to reduce a backlog of 3.8 million asylum cases by overhauling immigration courts and firing judges viewed as too liberal.
The Trump administration has eased rules to allow any attorney, regardless of legal background, to apply to become a 'Deportation Judge'. In September, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to hear asylum cases, a move criticised by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which likened it to 'cardiologists attempting to do a hip replacement'. So far, only 30 military members have been detailed to immigration courts, and most have aligned with administration goals: in November, military judges ordered removal in 78% of cases, compared with 63% for all other judges.
Dana Leigh Marks, a retired immigration judge and former head of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said it was 'hard to imagine someone being fired so quickly ... unless it was for ideological reasons'. She noted that military judges lack civil service protections and could face severe consequences under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Brenner Fissell, a law professor at Villanova University, added that personnel actions such as letters of reprimand could affect promotion and discharge, and appealing such decisions is a lengthy and costly process.
Day, a graduate of American University law school, has held multiple federal government jobs over the past two decades while serving in the Army Reserve. Unlike federal judges, immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department and can be dismissed at will. The Justice Department declined to comment on Day's firing, and Day did not respond to requests for comment.
