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Ex-judges sound alarm about feds ‘micromanaging’ immigration courts
Critics say a record 52 memos in 15 months and recent judge terminations have pressured immigration judges and narrowed their independence.
- On April 10, 2026, former Chelmsford Immigration Court judge Nina Frões received notice her position was not converted, effectively ending her role as the Executive Office for Immigration Review terminated 178 judges since February 2025.
- According to Frões, policies issued by EOIR since January 2025 have effectively micromanaged individual cases, with critics arguing the agency's record-setting 52 memoranda in 15 months challenge judicial independence.
- Although the national backlog dropped to 3.34 million from 3.7 million in fiscal 2024, individual judges now face caseloads of up to 6,000 following terminations, while Chelmsford alone manages a 60,000 case backlog.
- Former Chelmsford Immigration Court judge George Pappas filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department on May 14, 2026, alleging the agency wrongfully terminated judges based on age and professional history.
- Observers express concern that current agency policies signal the end of an era for judicial independence, even as immigration courts granted asylum to 2,753 seekers in March 2025 before declining sharply.
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13 Articles
Ex-judges say feds ‘micromanaging’ immigration courts
“The changes that are happening to immigration law are so quick and so beyond anything that we’ve ever seen before.” The post Ex-judges say feds ‘micromanaging’ immigration courts appeared first on Boston.com.
·Boston, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources13
Leaning Left3Leaning Right1Center7Last UpdatedBias Distribution64% Center
Bias Distribution
- 64% of the sources are Center
64% Center
L 27%
C 64%
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