The #DOJ may now designate “any lawyer” as a temporary immigration judge for 6 months — a period that can be renewed indefinitely. The #Trump admin claimed that the change promoted increased “flexibility,” while rejecting critics who raised doubts about whether it would increase the risk of biased judges.
#law #judiciary#Pentagon#MilitaryLawyers#ImmigrationJudges #military#DOJ #immigration #judges#MilitaryState
It’s also important to remember that shortly after taking office, #Defense Secy #PeteHegseth fired the top #JAG officers of the #Army & #AirForce. The position at the #Navy was already vacant. Hegseth has long expressed hostility toward #MilitaryLawyers.
He has called them “jagoffs,” & complained they unduly restricted rules of engagement on the battlefield. He also questioned whether it made sense to obey the #GenevaConventions, a core ethos of JAG lawyers.
“This would be #unlawful,” added Rachel VanLandingham, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles who was an #AirForce#JAG.
In particular, VanLandingham said, turning #MilitaryLawyers into #ImmigrationJudges would likely violate the #PosseComitatusAct, a federal #law that bars US troops from participating in #civilian#LawEnforcement or “executing the laws,” unless otherwise authorized to do so by the #Constitution or #Congress.
#Trump #military #immigration
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/trump-administration-military-lawyers-jags-immigration-court-judges/
It’s “frightening,”VanLandingham said of the plan, because “the use of #military courts to hear #civilian cases is the essential component of #MartialLaw.”
“What you end up with,” Maurer added, “is military officers under #federal control who are running civilian courts.”
#Trump #law#ImmigrationLaw #judiciary#Pentagon#MilitaryLawyers#JAG#ImmigrationJudges#PosseComitatusAct#DOJ #immigration #judges#MilitaryState
The fmr JAGs gamed out several scenarios…, but they couldn’t imagine any in which it would be #legal for the #Pentagon to turn #MilitaryLawyers into #ImmigrationJudges, that is, unless #Congress were to pass a #law that allowed it, or #Trump invoked the #InsurrectionAct, which gives the commander in chief power to deploy #military forces within the #US to suppress rebellion or domestic violence.
#ImmigrationLaw#Pentagon#PosseComitatusAct#DOJ #immigration #judges#MartialLaw#MilitaryState
And if #Trump went that route, there would be no turning back, according to Raquel Aldana, a law professor at the University of California, Davis: “The reality is that, once he does, the powers can be unlimited & we are in a #MilitaryState.”
#law#ImmigrationLaw #judiciary#Pentagon#MilitaryLawyers#JAG#ImmigrationJudges #military#PosseComitatusAct#DOJ #immigration #judges#MartialLaw
This is a bonfire demo instance for testing purposes.
