The Trump administration is escalating efforts to accelerate deportations by reshaping immigration courts, expanding denaturalization efforts, and defending aggressive enforcement operations despite growing legal and political challenges.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The Trump administration is intensifying its immigration enforcement agenda by targeting immigration judges accused of slowing deportation proceedings, defending large-scale federal enforcement operations, and expanding efforts to revoke citizenship from individuals accused of immigration fraud.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday the Justice Department is actively seeking to replace immigration judges whom officials believe are delaying cases or improperly applying immigration law.
Blanche made the remarks during an appearance at the Border Security Expo in Phoenix, an annual conference attended by immigration officials, law enforcement agencies, and federal contractors focused on border security operations.
“You take an oath and you’re not allowed to make decisions based upon what appear to be just sympathy or your whim,” Blanche told the Associated Press.
“If there’s judges that are just not applying the law in the way that it needs to be applied, delaying inappropriately, have backlogs that are just unacceptable, they’re the folks that we’re going to try to find somebody different to fill that spot,” he added.
The Justice Department oversees the nation’s immigration court system, giving the attorney general broad authority over immigration judges, who do not hold lifetime appointments like federal district court judges.
The administration’s push comes as immigration courts face a backlog estimated at roughly 3.7 million pending cases while President Donald Trump continues prioritizing mass deportations as a central component of his second-term agenda.
The administration has expanded detention capacity, increased immigration enforcement hiring, and launched operations targeting migrants in major American cities.
Critics, however, argue the administration is weakening due process protections within the immigration court system.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association previously accused the administration of prioritizing “speed and enforcement over fairness, accuracy, and fundamental justice.”
Blanche also said the Justice Department is aggressively pursuing denaturalization cases involving individuals accused of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship.
“That’s one of the tools that we are using aggressively that hasn’t been used as aggressively in the past,” Blanche said.
Denaturalization proceedings historically remained rare, averaging roughly a dozen cases annually between 1990 and 2017.
At the same time, the administration faces mounting legal resistance over detention policies tied to deportation enforcement.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Immigration and Customs Enforcement this week, rejecting a policy allowing mandatory detention for broad categories of migrants lacking legal status.
According to Politico, the court ruled 2-1 that ICE exceeded its authority by attempting to detain without bond virtually any migrant lacking lawful immigration status.
Judge Stanley Marcus wrote that federal immigration law did not grant the executive branch “unfettered authority” to detain every undocumented migrant without the possibility of release.
“Nowhere in the text, structure, or history” of immigration law did the administration’s interpretation find support, Marcus wrote.
Judge Robin Rosenbaum joined the ruling, while Judge Barbara Lagoa dissented.
Lagoa argued the size of the undocumented population reflected years of inadequate immigration enforcement rather than flaws in the administration’s interpretation of the law.
“The Executive’s failure to enforce a statute cannot retroactively narrow its meaning,” Lagoa wrote.
The ruling deepens an emerging split among federal appellate courts. The 5th and 8th Circuits have supported the administration’s interpretation, while the 2nd and 11th Circuits rejected it. The 7th Circuit previously deadlocked on the issue.
Legal observers expect the matter to ultimately reach the Supreme Court of the United States.
Meanwhile, Trump border czar Tom Homan defended the administration’s broader deportation campaign during a separate interview at the Border Security Expo while acknowledging controversy surrounding “Operation Metro Surge,” a Minneapolis-area enforcement operation that drew national criticism after federal agents fatally shot U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
“Things weren’t perfect. We addressed it. We fixed it,” Homan told CBS News.
The operation triggered bipartisan backlash and intensified scrutiny over immigration enforcement tactics involving public confrontations and aggressive raids.
Homan said the administration has since shifted toward more targeted operations focused on illegal immigrants with criminal records while reducing broad public-area sweeps.
Still, he emphasized that any migrant found in the country illegally remains subject to arrest.
“If they’re in the country illegally, they’re not off the table,” Homan said.
Homan additionally stated that federal agents violating laws or agency policies during operations should face consequences.
“If they violated the law, they’ve got to be held responsible,” he said.
The comments followed criticism from former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who recently accused the administration of softening its immigration enforcement approach.
Homan rejected that claim, pointing to deportation totals since Trump returned to office.
According to Homan, ICE and Customs and Border Protection have carried out approximately 800,000 deportations during Trump’s current term.
He said large-scale immigration enforcement actions will continue, particularly in sanctuary jurisdictions limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
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