More than 113 immigration judges have been fired or pushed out since January 2025 as part of the Trump administration's drive to speed up deportations, according to interviews with a dozen current and former judges. The purge, supported by Elon Musk's 'department of government efficiency' (Doge), has replaced many judges with military lawyers and political appointees.
David Koelsch, a former immigration judge in Baltimore, resigned in 2025 fearing he would be fired due to his higher-than-average asylum grant rate. 'Judges were being fired left and right. I knew my grant rate was higher than others. Maybe that would be a factor. So I thought, better to leave on my own terms,' he said. Koelsch had served nearly eight years on the bench after working as a supervisory asylum officer.
Jeremiah Johnson, a judge in San Francisco since 2017, was fired in November 2025 after granting asylum to a family of four. His grant rate was significantly above the national average. He described the day as normal until he was called into a meeting and dismissed. Both judges were appointed by former attorney general Jeff Sessions.
Many judges who spoke to the Guardian requested anonymity, fearing retaliation. They said the purge reflects a broader effort to exert political control over the courts, pressuring judges to align with enforcement goals. Some warned that if such pressure becomes normalised, it could reshape justice beyond immigration.
Koelsch criticised both the Trump and Biden administrations for undermining judicial independence. He said Biden's use of prosecutorial discretion to remove cases was 'a numbers game' for good headlines. Since leaving the bench, Koelsch has taken a job at the refugee resettlement organisation World Relief.
