Federal Immigration Judge Fired After Granting High Asylum Rate

Fri Dec 19 2025 22:31:43 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Christopher Day, a U.S. Army Reserve lawyer, has been dismissed as an immigration judge for granting asylum at a rate inconsistent with the Trump administration's deportation policies. The decision has raised concerns about the treatment of military judges in the immigration court system.

Christopher Day, appointed as a federal immigration judge, was fired after only five weeks in his role, as he granted asylum in six out of eleven cases, contrasting sharply with the Trump administration's strict deportation agenda. His termination has sparked discussions about the fairness and oversight of military judges in immigration matters, particularly as the administration pushes for minimal refugee approvals. This dismissal highlights an ongoing trend where judges deemed too liberal are replaced or sanctioned within the system.

MIAMI (AP) — A U.S. Army Reserve lawyer detailed as a federal immigration judge has been fired barely a month into the job after granting asylum at a high rate out of step with the Trump administration’s mass deportation goals, The Associated Press has learned.

Christopher Day began hearing cases in late October as a temporary judge at the immigration court in Annandale, Virginia. He was fired around Dec. 2, the National Association of Immigration Judges confirmed.

It’s unclear why Day was fired. Day did not comment when contacted by the AP, and a Justice Department spokeswoman declined to discuss personnel matters.

But federal data from November shows he ruled on asylum cases in ways at odds with the Trump administration’s stated goals.

Of the 11 cases he concluded in November, he granted asylum or some other type of relief allowing the migrant to remain in the United States a total of six times, according to federal data analyzed by Mobile Pathways, a San Francisco-based non-profit.

Such favorable outcomes for migrants have become increasingly rare as the Trump administration seeks to slash a massive backlog of 3.8 million asylum cases by radically overhauling the nation’s 75 immigration courts. As part of that drive, the Trump administration has fired almost 100 judges viewed as too liberal.

In response, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in September approved sending up to 600 military lawyers to hear asylum cases. The goal, migrant advocacy groups say, is to redefine a judge’s traditional duties as a fair, independent arbiter of asylum claims into something akin to a rubber stamp in a robe for the White House’s mass deportation goals.

The influx of military officers lacking expertise in immigration law has been criticized, with comparisons made to cardiologists attempting to perform hip replacements. Nonetheless, Pentagon officials defend the move urging that assessing pending asylum claims is a national necessity.

So far, only 30 military members have been detailed to the immigration courts, and preliminary results suggest they are fulfilling expectations—90% of cases heard by military judges resulted in removal orders.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association has objected to this model, emphasizing that credibility and fairness in judicial proceedings are paramount in immigration law.