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Military Lawyer Swiftly Fired After Defying Trump Deportation Push

Around Dec. 2, Christopher Day, a U.S. Army Reserve lawyer and temporary immigration judge in Annandale, Virginia, was fired after granting asylum in six of 11 November cases, officials have not explained why.
The Trump administration aims to cut a 3.8 million asylum backlog by overhauling 75 immigration courts, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approving up to 600 military lawyers to hear cases.
Immigration judges are Justice Department employees without lifetime tenure and can be fired by the Attorney General; Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Day, who previously worked at the Federal Communications Commission, began hearing cases after a two-week training course in October and was dismissed after roughly five weeks.
Legal experts warn personnel actions can affect careers, and advocacy groups say the firing aims to make judges rubber stamps, while Pentagon officials defended the campaign, a Villanova University law professor said.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association criticized the influx of military officers lacking immigration-law expertise, while only 30 military members have been detailed so far, raising oversight questions under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

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Military lawyer swiftly fired from immigration bench after defying Trump deportation push

A U.S. Army Reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals.

3 hours ago·United States

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