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2.0

EOIR issues final rule eliminating regulatory requirements for appointing Temporary Immigration Judges

  1. Original Date Announced

    August 28, 2025

    EOIR issued a final rule eliminating prior regulatory requirements for the appointment of Temporary Immigration Judges (TIJs). The rule amends 8 CFR § 1003.10(e)(1) to permit the EOIR Director, with the approval of the Attorney General, to designate or select "any attorney" to serve as a TIJ for a renewable term not to exceed six months. Prior to this rule, TIJs were limited to "former IJs and Appellate Immigration Judges, EOIR administrative law judges (ALJ) or ALJs retired from EOIR, ALJs from other Executive Branch agencies with the consent of their agencies, and [DOJ] attorneys with at least 10 years of legal experience in the field of immigration law." The new requirements mirror those for hiring a permanent IJ.

    The final rule also replaces "noncitizen" with "alien" and "unaccompanied child" with "unaccompanied alien child" in a number of EOIR regulations.

    Trump 2.0 [ID #1969]

    2025.08.28 EOIR Final Rule - Designation of Temporary Immigration Judges
  2. Effective Date

    August 28, 2025
  3. Subsequent Trump and Court Action

    September 2, 2025

    2025.09.02 Reported: Pentagon authorizes up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges - AP News

    The Associated Press reports that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to the Department of Justice to serve temporarily as immigration judges according to a memo AP reviewed. The moves, which will occur "as soon as possible," come as over 100 immigration judges have left or been fired since President Trump took office in January 2025.

    Note that the Pentagon memo was reportedly dated August 27, but this entry is dated September 2 to avoid sequencing confusion with TIJ Final Rule.

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Current Status

None

Original Trump Policy Status

Status: Final/Actual
Trump Administration Action: Rule
Subject Matter: Hearings and Adjudications
Agencies Affected: EOIR DOJ

Pre Trump-Era Policies

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