Immigration Watch: Updates as of March 20, 2025

Upstate New York has recently found itself in national immigration news. From significant cuts in immigration court staffing to a new military deployment at the southern border, the latest developments reflect the ongoing shift in the U.S. approach to foreign nationals.

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Immigration Courts Down 85 Court Employees

Since the beginning of the Trump administration, a total of 85 immigration court employees have either been fired or accepted buyouts to leave their positions. This includes:

• 18 judges who accepted deferred resignation or early retirement
• 29 judges who were terminated

The decision to fire immigration judges has raised questions. As a reminder, federal immigration judges preside over asylum cases and deportation hearings. While the administration has emphasized mass deportations as a policy goal, it has simultaneously reduced the number of judges responsible for determining whether immigrants should be removed.

According to data from the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, each immigration judge oversees approximately 500–700 cases per year, with a nationwide backlog of 3.7 million pending cases.

This backlog is not new. It has developed over decades due to the structural challenges involved in hiring and retaining immigration judges. Historically, both Democratic and Republican administrations have supported increasing the number of judges to help alleviate the strain. However, a recent memo issued by the Department of Justice suggests that additional staffing cuts may be forthcoming.

TRAC, a research center at Syracuse University, has provided immigration data and analysis for more than 30 years. Its statistics are frequently cited by major media outlets – including The New York Times – as well as by scholars, policymakers, and government officials.

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Pentagon to Deploy Approximately 3,000 Additional Troops to the Border

The Department of Defense has announced that approximately 3,000 additional active-duty troops will be deployed to the southern border, including:

• 1,100 troops from the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York
• 2,400 troops from the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado

This deployment will bring the total number of active-duty troops stationed at the border to approximately 9,000.

To date, troops have assisted in constructing physical barriers and supporting law enforcement agencies. However, the Department of Defense has stated that “whatever is needed at the border will be provided.”

The Department did not rule out potential use of the Insurrection Act, a law originally enacted in 1792 and last invoked in 1992, which allows the president to deploy the military domestically in support of civilian law enforcement.

It is worth noting that during the Biden administration, expanded lawful migration pathways contributed to a significant decrease in unlawful border crossings. Since taking office, President Trump has worked to reverse several of those initiatives.

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I will continue to monitor these developments and provide updates as additional information becomes available. To read more about what I’ve written about today and more, you can subscribe to my bi-weekly LinkedIn newsletter, Immigration Watch.