On February 12, 2025, DOJ’s Executive Office for Immigration Review abruptly fired — en masse — recently appointed probationary immigration judges. The terminated judges received nearly identical notices with no individualized explanation and cited only that retaining them was “not in the best interest of the Agency.”
In response to these unlawful firings, a group of terminated immigration judges, represented by Democracy Forward and Alden Law Group, filed a class appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). The filing asserts that these firings were not based on any misconduct or performance issues but were part of a broader effort to reduce the federal workforce without following legally required RIF procedures, including proper evaluation of merit-based factors and veterans’ preference.
The immigration judges seek full reinstatement, back pay, and class certification, arguing that the DOJ violated civil service protections, merit system principles, and due process under federal law. If granted, the class appeal would allow for the coordinated resolution of pending cases in multiple regional offices.
The case is one of many legal challenges to the continued attacks on the civil service carried out by the Trump-Vance administration, and raises many concerns about the future of independent, nonpartisan public service.
