Military lawyers facing potential assignment as immigration judges raises eyebrows among Senate Democrats
In a recent letter to the Pentagon, a group of senators has expressed deep concern about the proposed reassignment of up to 600 military lawyers to the Justice Department. The senators perceive this move as a means to advance misguided immigration policies and potentially violating prohibitions on military involvement in law enforcement.
The nation's immigration courts are currently grappling with a backlog of about 3.5 million cases, a situation exacerbated by President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration enforcement efforts that have led to dozens of immigration judges being fired, while others have resigned or taken early retirement.
The senators are particularly concerned about the impact of pulling military lawyers away from the Offices of Special Trial Counsel (OSTCs). Established by Congress in 2022 as part of an effort to reform the military justice system, the OSTCs began taking cases at the end of last year. Their role is to move decisions on the prosecution of serious military crimes, including sexual assault, to independent military attorneys, taking that power away from victims' commanders.
The senators are worried that allowing military lawyers to work as temporary immigration judges may violate a ban on using service members for law enforcement, as stipulated by the Posse Comitatus Act. The Act prevents the military from conducting law enforcement outside of extreme emergencies.
Pentagon officials were aware of this possibility, as indicated in a memo describing the plan. The Justice Department would be responsible for ensuring that the military lawyers do not violate the Posse Comitatus Act. The senators, however, have not received any insight into any legal analysis the military has conducted into whether the move would violate the Act.
The senators' letter also asks the Pentagon to preserve the OSTCs' progress in building specialized trial capacity and ensure that the diversion of OSTCs, trial counsels, and defense counsels does not create delays or diminish quality in court-martials. They are also seeking information about where the roughly 600 lawyers will be coming from.
The senators view the plan as a demonstration of how the Trump administration views skilled personnel as pawns to be traded between agencies. They believe that the reassignment of military lawyers could negatively impact service members going through the military's judicial system.
As the situation develops, more details are expected to emerge regarding the implications of this proposed reassignment of military lawyers to the Justice Department.
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