BREAKING: 600 military lawyers to serve as immigration judges: report

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized 600 military lawyers in the Department of Justice to serve as temporary immigration judges, according to a report from the Associated Press. This comes as the Trump administration is trying to speed up deportation processing. 

A memo reviewed by the outlet said that the military will start by sending 150 lawyers to the DOJ “as soon as practicable” and that the first round of lawyers will be chosen by next week. The memo was dated August 27. The DOJ has requested the move from the Pentagon.

A White House official on Tuesday told reporters that Trump is looking at several options to get through the backlog of immigration cases, around 3.5 million. The official added that the move should be a "priority that everyone—including those waiting for adjudication—can rally around.”

The effort comes as the Trump administration is trying to ramp up deportations of illegal immigrants in the country, with a focus on those who are committing crimes and are public safety threats.

As the administration has been ramping up the effort, a number of immigration judges have been fired or have taken deferred resignations offered by the administration earlier in the year. There are about 600 immigration judges currently working, meaning the move from the Pentagon will double the number of judges working on the cases.  

Among other moves to speed up deportations, the Trump administration has mobilized 1,700 National Guard troops to go to 19 different states around the nation to assist with the processing of immigration cases and aid law enforcement efforts.