US Justice Department Proposes Giving Immigration Judges Power to Impose Contempt Fines in Courtrooms

The US Justice Department has proposed granting immigration judges the power to impose civil contempt fines on immigration lawyers, migrants and other individuals appearing before them — a move that would significantly expand their authority within immigration court proceedings.

Under the proposed rule unveiled by the Trump administration, immigration judges would, for the first time, be permitted to “sanction contemptuous action or inaction” by attorneys appearing before them through monetary civil penalties under an authority enacted by Congress three decades ago.

 

The proposed contempt powers would apply not only to lawyers but also to migrants involved in immigration proceedings and witnesses appearing before immigration judges. Individuals could face financial penalties for conduct deemed disruptive or damaging to court proceedings.

However, lawyers representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be exempt from such penalties under the proposal. The regulation states that immigration judges would not be allowed to exercise contempt authority against federal government lawyers acting in their official capacity. Witnesses testifying as federal government employees in their official roles would also be excluded.

The draft regulation, scheduled for publication in the Federal Register, represents the first formal attempt to fulfil a requirement under a 1996 law requiring the attorney general to establish rules defining immigration judges’ statutory authority to impose civil monetary sanctions.

According to the proposal, contempt powers would allow immigration judges to “control the proceedings before them” and discourage conduct that could interfere with the administration of justice.

The idea of expanding such powers dates back decades. Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general during President George W. Bush’s administration, had previously supported regulations allowing immigration judges to have stronger tools to manage courtrooms and safeguard the immigration adjudication system from fraud and abuse.

Immigration judges, who are employees of the Justice Department rather than part of an independent judicial system, have become a key element of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. The administration has focused on increasing the number of judges, speeding up deportation proceedings and reducing delays in asylum cases.

The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees the immigration courts, has appointed more than 300 military lawyers, former ICE attorneys and other legal professionals as immigration judges while dismissing more than 100 judges, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis. The appointments include 41 new permanent and temporary judges who were sworn in on Wednesday.

During Trump’s first term, the Justice Department had also considered introducing regulations on immigration judges’ authority to impose civil monetary penalties, with such plans included in the administration’s Spring 2020 unified agenda.

The latest proposal has drawn criticism from immigration judges and legal advocates. Jeremiah Johnson, executive vice president of the National Association of Immigration Judges, said treating immigration lawyers differently from ICE attorneys raised concerns about equal treatment and due process.

“Proceedings are not fundamentally fair when one party is subject to penalties and the other is not,” Johnson said. He was among the immigration judges removed by the Trump administration last year.

The proposed rule now opens a broader debate over the balance between giving immigration judges greater control over courtrooms and ensuring fairness in a system where judges operate within the executive branch rather than an independent judiciary.