DOD Directs Military Lawyers to Serve as Temporary Immigration Judges

A September 2025 letter from Senator Mazie Hirono to the Judge Advocates General of the military services described an August 27, 2025 Department of Defense memorandum directing the military to detail groups of 150 attorneys — military and civilian — to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to serve as temporary immigration judges, with appointments initially lasting up to 179 days and renewable. A September 8, 2025 letter from Representative Chrissy Houlahan to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raised parallel concerns about military readiness and judicial impartiality. The Hirono letter further documented that approximately twenty uniformed judge advocates were also being detailed as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the District of Columbia. These reassignments came at a time when the immigration courts were dealing with a significant backlog of immigration-related cases, and shortly after roughly 100 immigration judges were terminated by the Trump administration. The DOD memorandum itself remains nonpublic; its terms were originally reported by the Associated Press.