Warren, Hirono Lead Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats in Demanding Answers on Reassignment of Military Lawyers to Immigration Courts

Warren, Hirono Lead Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats in Demanding Answers on Reassignment of Military Lawyers to Immigration Courts

"This [reassignment] demonstrates how the Trump administration views skilled personnel as pawns to be traded between agencies, rather than as professionals essential to their core missions, in order to advance misguided immigration policies."

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii) in leading every Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee to demand answers from the Department of Defense (DOD) on the recent authorization by Secretary Pete Hegseth to assign up to 600 military lawyers to serve as temporary immigration judges within the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The letter is also cosigned by Ranking Member Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), and Angus King (I-Me.).

"We are deeply concerned about the implications of these assignments and the JAG Corps' ability to continue effectively supporting adherence to the rule of law," wrote the senators.

As the Trump Administration continues to advance its anti-immigrant agenda, additional strain has been placed on immigration courts during recent months, which were already contending with a massive backlog of cases. Since January, over 100 immigration judges have been fired or voluntarily resigned, further compounding the issue.

The lawmakers emphasized the importance of the independence of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps and expressed their concerns about moving them to highly political assignments, including undermining military justice functions and readiness. They also questioned whether this authorization violates the Posse Comitatus Act, a federal law that prohibits the use of the U.S. military for domestic civilian law enforcement except when expressly authorized by law. Earlier this month, the U.S. District Court ruled that the Trump administration willfully violated the Posse Comitatus Act during the troop deployment in Los Angeles.

"These roles, unlike collateral duties, require extended full-time commitment away from the servicemembers' parent commands," continued the senators.

The letter also raised concerns about the impact that these reassignments will have on the ability of the JAG Corps to prosecute sexual assault cases under the newly established Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC), which handles the most serious military crimes under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).

The lawmakers pressed for answers from the top uniformed legal advisers of the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps about facilitating informed oversight, as well as how these large-scale assignments will impact operational readiness and UCMJ case load, and career development and command support.

"We remain extremely disturbed about the impacts on readiness of using military personnel to perform what are traditionally Department of Justice functions. Additionally, this demonstrates how the Trump administration views skilled personnel as pawns to be traded between agencies, rather than as professionals essential to their core missions, in order to advance misguided immigration policies," concluded the senators.

Last week, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Senator Warren raised her concerns on the growing costs associated with using the military to perform civilian law enforcement duties. She has repeatedly urged her colleagues to stop President Trump and Secretary Hegseth from abusing their authority and the military.

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