Photo: Alamy
The Department of Homeland Security is turning its attention to hiring deportation judges as part of a broader effort to speed up removals and strengthen immigration enforcement.
In a new campaign launched Tuesday, DHS urged Americans to “be the judge” and apply for positions within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. The outreach frames the role as crucial to restoring order to an immigration system that officials say has been strained by backlogs and abuse.
“YOU BE THE JUDGE,” DHS posted on X. “Join @TheJusticeDept as a deportation judge to write the next chapter of America. Combat fraud and those who seek to exploit vulnerabilities in our immigration system.”
The campaign mirrors new language on the Justice Department’s hiring site, describing the job in sweeping, nation-shaping terms. “Help write the next chapter of America,” the DOJ site reads. “Apply today to become a deportation judge.”
According to the posting, the position offers salaries ranging from $159,951 to $207,500 annually, with a 25 percent recruitment bonus for first-time federal employees assigned to high-cost regions including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
Immigration judges “preside over cases in federal Immigration Court and determine whether an alien has to leave the United States or gets to stay,” the DOJ notes, emphasizing that their decisions carry “generational consequences.”
The initiative follows a significant expansion of staffing and enforcement at DHS after Congress approved a $75 billion budget increase earlier this year. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the department had received more than 200,000 applications for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer positions as part of the administration’s “Defend the Homeland” campaign.
Thousands of new ICE agents have already been deployed, and thousands more are expected to join by the end of 2025. DHS said it has also seen record hiring surges for Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Officials say the push to hire deportation judges aims to relieve a long-standing bottleneck in immigration enforcement, the backlog of pending court cases. Conservatives have argued that deportation orders mean little if migrants remain in the country for years awaiting hearings. By adding more judges, they say, the administration can accelerate removals while maintaining due process.