I was once an ICE prosecutor. What I see now in immigration courts is disturbing.

The Hill

5 days ago

I hadn't heard the rattling of chains in a courthouse since 2012, when I was a prosecutor for the Department of Homeland Security at the Varick Immigration Court in New York City. Back then, shackles were reserved for individuals deemed a public safety threat or flight risk by ICE as they were being escorted from their holding cells. They often already had arrests or convictions.
But in 2025, it's a whole new world. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and other elected officials have been arrested for bearing witness to immigration enforcement. Last month, ICE agents handcuffed New York City Comptroller Brad Lander at 26 Federal Plaza after he linked arms with an immigrant during what should have been a routine court appearance.
Each day, ICE raises the stakes –– even targeting Americans who dare to show solidarity.
I no longer work for ICE, but I still advocate for immigrants. And what I'm seeing representing clients at ICE check-ins and court hearings is seriously disturbing. Courtrooms that once served as venues for justice are now used to intimidate and remove those who challenge policy.
President Trump's militarized immigration enforcement has produced shocking due process violations, chaos and widespread fear. The chains are back, but this time they serve a different purpose. Detainment is no longer about controlling security threats or managing who enters the country. Instead, courtroom arrests are part of a broader effort to restructure the immigration system by force and without debate or legislation.
With each new policy, principled professionals inside the courtroom resign, leaving fewer voices willing to question what's happening. This quiet exodus should alarm us all, not just noncitizens. If no one within the system challenges this overreach now, we will soon witness the collapse of immigration courts as we know them.
It is hard to ignore the growing sense of danger inside today's immigration courts. Since 2017, more than 300 immigration judges have resigned, retired or been pushed out, many citing political pressure and the erosion of judicial independence. Earlier this year, the Department of Justice abruptly fired 20 immigration judges, including five assistant chief judges and an entire incoming class, a purge widely condemned as politically motivated.
Newer judges, trained under Trump-era protocols, now operate under intense scrutiny and are instructed to deny even the most basic continuances, including the standard 10-day extension attorneys typically receive to prepare a response. In April alone, immigration judges closed more than 11,000 asylum cases, a new record high. They also set another record: denial rates exceeded 80 percent. These denials often serve one purpose: to fast-track cases. This advances Trump's novel strategy of dismissing cases to expedite deportation, and to clear dockets to comply with ICE's removal quotas.
The loss of judicial expertise coincides with a staggering funding imbalance: from fiscal 2023 through 2024, Congres s spent roughly $24 on ICE and Border Patrol for every dollar spent on immigration courts. This leaves judges overwhelmed and under-resourced, while enforcement agencies received hundreds of billions in support. With arrest quotas at 3,000 per day, and ICE surpassing its 41,500 funded bed spaces, the administration isn't seeking neutral arbiters. It is demanding compliant 'yes' judges to carry out its agenda of expedited removals.
Fewer independent voices on the bench, rushed court proceedings and a courtroom culture that now prioritizes handcuffs over hearings have created another urgent crisis: There aren't enough immigration lawyers left to meet the needs of a ballooning docket. And the lack of oversight around ICE's tactics inside courthouses has had a chilling effect on those who remain.
A national survey of asylum attorneys found that immigration lawyers experience levels of burnout and secondary traumatic stress higher than those seen in social work, prison care or nursing. Many report symptoms like depression, insomnia, intrusive thoughts and emotional detachment — signs that often mirror PTSD.
For those representing unaccompanied children or trauma survivors, the emotional weight is compounded by a sense of moral injury — the psychological damage done by witnessing injustice while feeling powerless to prevent it.
While data on government workers — particularly ICE attorneys — is scarce, the signs are troubling. There is no official count of how many have resigned or been pushed out, but those who remain face mounting political pressure and growing caseloads, and they are given no discretion. ICE's legal arm, the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, is tasked with prosecuting millions of immigration cases, yet, unlike federal prosecutors in criminal courts, its attorneys operate with little public accountability.
While the departures of immigration judges have drawn concern, attrition within the office remains unnoticed and unexamined. Yet its impact is felt as experienced, ethical attorneys quietly exit, leaving behind many who are less experienced or less ethical, and who at any rate are expected to implement policies without regard to their legality or the dictates of their consciences.
One of them, James Joseph Rodden, an ICE attorney in Dallas, was recently exposed for running a white supremacist social media account while actively prosecuting immigrants in court. ICE declined to comment in late March on whether Rodden remains employed.
We need courage from within the system –– judges, attorneys and officials willing to uphold the rule of law –– and meaningful reform to guard against the erosion of due process.
When defenders of the Constitution resign and those like Rodden stay behind, loyalty to equal justice is replaced by loyalty to power. For the sake of our nation, we must do better. We must demand a system where immigration courtrooms are guided by principle.
Veronica Cardenas is a former prosecutor with the Department of Homeland Security. She is the founder of Humanigration, a digital platform serving immigrants and their legal advocates.