BOSTON — The ACLU of Massachusetts today filed a public records lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), seeking documents about the Trump administration’s apparent deployment of active-duty military personnel as temporary immigration judges.
Last summer, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth approved plans to deploy up to 600 military lawyers to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to serve as temporary immigration judges, and it appears that several are currently hearing cases in Massachusetts.
“One of our country’s foundational principles is that the military does not sit in judgment over civilians arrested in the United States. That principle is deeply rooted in our law,” said Dan McFadden, managing attorney at the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Yet the Trump administration appears to have deployed active-duty military officers to determine who is a citizen, who will be free, who will be jailed, and who will be expelled from our country. The exercise of such power by the military raises serious legal and constitutional questions. And the Department of Defense has failed to produce even the most basic information about this program. We are going to court to uphold the public’s right to full transparency."
Temporary immigration judges wield enormous power over civilians arrested inside the United States. After Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrest someone on suspicion of being a non-citizen subject to deportation, immigration judges are, in most cases, responsible for determining whether ICE's allegations are true. They have the power to determine who is a U.S. citizen, to order deportations, and to determine whether people should be jailed—often for months or years—as their civil immigration cases proceed.
The ACLU of Massachusetts filed a public records request in October of 2025 seeking more information about the Pentagon's program. In response, the U.S. Marine Corps provided a handful of documents indicating that reserve military lawyers are being recruited to serve as temporary immigration judges on Active Duty for Operational Support (ADOS) orders. (ADOS is a program providing temporary active-duty opportunities for those in the Marine Corps Reserve.)
The Department of Defense has not turned over additional public records, including a memorandum of understanding between the DOD and the DOJ about the program. The ACLU’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, seeks the public release of these records as soon as possible.
The apparent deployment of active-duty military officers to adjudicate immigration cases comes as the Trump administration has fired about 100 civilian immigration judges while pressing to accelerate mass deportations. Assigning military service members to this role raises many questions, including who is evaluating their performance and by what criteria, and whether active-duty military personnel have the independence required to serve as impartial judges.
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