Of course reassigning military legal personnel to immigration cases would prevent them from determining the legality of orders to fire on U.S. citizens during peaceful protests. Or destroying a boat in international waters without a declaration of war. Or anything else, for that matter. Lethality, wonderful word.
Sickening. What will it take to get the Rpublicans in Congress to find their courage? Are they so corrupt that they will stand by while their nation is murdered.
I am an immigration lawyer, and they terminated two excellent judges in my district, and at least three others resigned on their own. For some of the cases, I am OK with a JAG judge who takes the time to learn immigration law because there have been judges appointed who were AUSA's or came from other agencies with minimal immigration experience and for the most part they were fine because they studied up and asked questions. However, on complex cases this will not be good and if the plan is what I think it is, admin close or dismiss as many cases as possible so people can be arrested as they walk out of court, this will not be good.
FYI, Immigration Judges do not have law clerks like Federal or State court judges; they write their own opinions.
What interests me is that Trump is reallocating so many resources away from their core responsibilities. At some point the institutions being robbed to support the mass deportations must weaken. Don't JAGs, FBI agents, state police and local law enforcement have other duties to which to attend? How many National Guardsmen planned on disrupting their normal lives to carry on missions that have nothing to do with their state and seem to be all about cosplays of power by federal and state politicians?
Now would be the time for an aggressor nation to attack our national interests.
I believe that Trump's extrajudicial killing of alleged drug runners on international waters is an attempt to show that not only is he above the law domestically but that he is above international law as well. He is essentially daring the international community to do something about it.
Griff - exactly. Evaluate via Econ 101 concept of opportunity costs. Even if one assumes these will be “hanging judges” who deport in every case, that result has no financial benefit to our country, only costs: transportation expenses, lost taxes & SS contributions from working immigrants (who qualified for little to no benefits back), reduced productivity and output for whoever employed them….
Meanwhile the military lawyers presumably have work activities that will now NOT be done, so that’s a loss for our uniformed national defense system.
All cost, no benefits. Unless you can put a dollar benefit on Stephen Miller’s ghoulish smile?
Adrian, Excellent research and reporting. Why would we expect anyone to be qualified in this administration? This fish stinks from the head of Steven Miller. Shout out to those patriotic Republican Senators for their unswerving devotion to lawlessness. I see tribunals for all these f-ing traitors.
Thank you for continuing to call it the Department of Defense.
I am fairly disgusted that Trump is using the military like it is a labor pool from which he can draw people at any time to do whatever it is he wants them to do. These people have jobs and responsibilities to the DoD. The degree to which DHS and DoD are becoming one branch of government is really terrifying.
Like so many other choices in this administration, bringing in these lawyers to serve as judges is a cynical feint in the vague direction of upholding despised standards. Since only appearances matter--hey, they went to court, and a judge ruled!--who cares if there's no expertise?
So the thing I wonder about is how the JAG lawyers themselves feel. My husband and I have talked to friends and family who are or were military and according to them, the military hates Trump. I am completely in the dark regarding that other than hearsay. But let's say they do, will they be more likely to favor immigrants who have not received due process?
Each piece of the legal resistance to fascism is being dismantled. I am wondering how it will be for my friend's daughter if she is called up. Her father is an immigrant from a South American country. I wonder how many other JAGs have at least one immigrant parent. I imagine quite a few.
"lending up to 600 military lawyers, known as judge advocates general or JAGs, to the Department of Justice, where they will act as temporary immigration judges. The first batch of 150 attorneys chosen for the assignment is expected to be sent over by next week"
And every last one of them is guaranteed to be housebroken, as well as acing a loyalty test.
-----
“Expecting fair decisions from judges unfamiliar with the law is absurd,” he said, adding that “this reckless move guts due process.”
* Unfamiliar with Immigration Law is a feature, not a bug. If they aren't up to speed they'll be more likely to "take suggestions and recommendations" without too many questions, ie more than one.
* I may be mistaken but I'm pretty confident in saying that this probably isn't a "reckless move [that] guts due process[]” but a planned move to further gut due process. (Thank G-dess that there are people like Stephen Miller to map it all out, XFG is incapable of seeing that far ahead... except in the long grift:
> "Of all the riches you've surveyed
And all that you can lift
I'm just another dollar that you made
In your long, long grift" (From Broadway show, Hedwig and the Angry Itch)
I guess I am not dark enough- I didn’t think about Ai writing opinions! This is going to be an awful situation for the people who will end up being deported. Thank you for reporting on this. This is a giant step in dismantling our justice system. Maybe people won’t care . Don’t be surprised when it ends up that we are summoned in front of a military tribune for a traffic violation.
As a retired soldier, if I were placed in that position the only option I could live with would be to resign my commission.
Of course reassigning military legal personnel to immigration cases would prevent them from determining the legality of orders to fire on U.S. citizens during peaceful protests. Or destroying a boat in international waters without a declaration of war. Or anything else, for that matter. Lethality, wonderful word.
Thanks for bringing this to our notice.
Sickening. What will it take to get the Rpublicans in Congress to find their courage? Are they so corrupt that they will stand by while their nation is murdered.
I am an immigration lawyer, and they terminated two excellent judges in my district, and at least three others resigned on their own. For some of the cases, I am OK with a JAG judge who takes the time to learn immigration law because there have been judges appointed who were AUSA's or came from other agencies with minimal immigration experience and for the most part they were fine because they studied up and asked questions. However, on complex cases this will not be good and if the plan is what I think it is, admin close or dismiss as many cases as possible so people can be arrested as they walk out of court, this will not be good.
FYI, Immigration Judges do not have law clerks like Federal or State court judges; they write their own opinions.
What interests me is that Trump is reallocating so many resources away from their core responsibilities. At some point the institutions being robbed to support the mass deportations must weaken. Don't JAGs, FBI agents, state police and local law enforcement have other duties to which to attend? How many National Guardsmen planned on disrupting their normal lives to carry on missions that have nothing to do with their state and seem to be all about cosplays of power by federal and state politicians?
Now would be the time for an aggressor nation to attack our national interests.
I believe that Trump's extrajudicial killing of alleged drug runners on international waters is an attempt to show that not only is he above the law domestically but that he is above international law as well. He is essentially daring the international community to do something about it.
Griff - exactly. Evaluate via Econ 101 concept of opportunity costs. Even if one assumes these will be “hanging judges” who deport in every case, that result has no financial benefit to our country, only costs: transportation expenses, lost taxes & SS contributions from working immigrants (who qualified for little to no benefits back), reduced productivity and output for whoever employed them….
Meanwhile the military lawyers presumably have work activities that will now NOT be done, so that’s a loss for our uniformed national defense system.
All cost, no benefits. Unless you can put a dollar benefit on Stephen Miller’s ghoulish smile?
Looks like waste fraud’n’abuse to me
Adrian, Excellent research and reporting. Why would we expect anyone to be qualified in this administration? This fish stinks from the head of Steven Miller. Shout out to those patriotic Republican Senators for their unswerving devotion to lawlessness. I see tribunals for all these f-ing traitors.
Thank you for continuing to call it the Department of Defense.
I am fairly disgusted that Trump is using the military like it is a labor pool from which he can draw people at any time to do whatever it is he wants them to do. These people have jobs and responsibilities to the DoD. The degree to which DHS and DoD are becoming one branch of government is really terrifying.
I really need to work on my Irish passport….
Footnote 2...........
Yes, I'm hoping more than one AI algorithm will start hallucinating, "A pathway to citizenship for all non-violent undocumented immigrants!"
Along with comments to any MAGA JAG judges: "I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that."
Like so many other choices in this administration, bringing in these lawyers to serve as judges is a cynical feint in the vague direction of upholding despised standards. Since only appearances matter--hey, they went to court, and a judge ruled!--who cares if there's no expertise?
So the thing I wonder about is how the JAG lawyers themselves feel. My husband and I have talked to friends and family who are or were military and according to them, the military hates Trump. I am completely in the dark regarding that other than hearsay. But let's say they do, will they be more likely to favor immigrants who have not received due process?
Each piece of the legal resistance to fascism is being dismantled. I am wondering how it will be for my friend's daughter if she is called up. Her father is an immigrant from a South American country. I wonder how many other JAGs have at least one immigrant parent. I imagine quite a few.
Maybe Paul Weiss will be called on to do pro bono work here.
"lending up to 600 military lawyers, known as judge advocates general or JAGs, to the Department of Justice, where they will act as temporary immigration judges. The first batch of 150 attorneys chosen for the assignment is expected to be sent over by next week"
And every last one of them is guaranteed to be housebroken, as well as acing a loyalty test.
-----
“Expecting fair decisions from judges unfamiliar with the law is absurd,” he said, adding that “this reckless move guts due process.”
* Unfamiliar with Immigration Law is a feature, not a bug. If they aren't up to speed they'll be more likely to "take suggestions and recommendations" without too many questions, ie more than one.
* I may be mistaken but I'm pretty confident in saying that this probably isn't a "reckless move [that] guts due process[]” but a planned move to further gut due process. (Thank G-dess that there are people like Stephen Miller to map it all out, XFG is incapable of seeing that far ahead... except in the long grift:
> "Of all the riches you've surveyed
And all that you can lift
I'm just another dollar that you made
In your long, long grift" (From Broadway show, Hedwig and the Angry Itch)
fnord
I guess I am not dark enough- I didn’t think about Ai writing opinions! This is going to be an awful situation for the people who will end up being deported. Thank you for reporting on this. This is a giant step in dismantling our justice system. Maybe people won’t care . Don’t be surprised when it ends up that we are summoned in front of a military tribune for a traffic violation.