The Justice Department of the United States dismissed several immigration judges on Friday, NBC News reported while quoting two sources. One of the judges confirmed the development on LinkedIn.

The decision complicates an already struggling immigration system as the Trump administration seeks to swiftly alter the federal workforce, the American news outlet said.

The dismissals were carried out by the acting director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the agency responsible for immigration courts.

Over two dozen judges, managers, and new hires have been terminated since the Trump administration took office, according to a union representing immigration judges.

On Friday, five midlevel assistant chief immigration judges and 13 candidates for new judicial positions were terminated, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers stated.

IFPTE President Matt Biggs expressed confusion over the situation, stating, “You have a president who campaigned on immigration and the removal of individuals from the country, yet he is firing the very judges responsible for hearing these cases. It makes no sense; it’s puzzling.”

Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration, the administration has dismissed at least four senior managers within the Executive Office for Immigration Review, along with a fifth senior official, according to the union.

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Kerry Doyle, a recently appointed immigration judge, shared on LinkedIn that she and other judges appointed by former president Joe Biden received an email on Friday notifying them of their termination. Doyle previously served as the deputy general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security during the Biden administration.

She claimed the recent firings of immigration judges were politically motivated, as she and her colleagues were appointed during the Biden administration.

The termination of these immigration judges could exacerbate an already significant case backlog, which has reached record levels over the past three years, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Last year, unprecedented enforcement encounters at the southwest border led to over 1.8 million new cases being filed, raising the total immigration case backlog to 3.6 million by the end of 2024.