Attorneys and former judges say Trump administration policies aimed at efficiency risk limiting fairness.
Published on June 15, 2026 | Reported from Phoenix, Arizona
Immigration attorneys and former judges say a series of Trump administration policy changes is pressuring a backlogged immigration court system to move cases faster — sometimes at the expense of fairness and full review.
Immigration attorney Pattilyn Bermúdez Solano believed she had the law on her side heading into an Eloy immigration court hearing in March, but she said she quickly learned the judge was not interested in hearing the merits of her argument.
“It appeared that he already had his mind set of how he was going to deal with the case,” Bermúdez Solano said of the judge, who she said claimed he did not have jurisdiction to hold a hearing on whether to release her client on bond.
Bermúdez Solano argued her client was eligible for bond and cited a federal statute she said clearly gave the judge authority to hold the hearing and potentially grant release.
The judge sat for a moment, she said, telling the courtroom to wait while he fact-checked what Bermúdez Solano had told him.
He stared at his computer before saying, according to Bermúdez Solano, “She’s right.” But the judge still denied her client bond.
Immigration attorney Pattilyn B. Bermúdez Solano speaks with ASU’s Howard Center reporters on March 3, 2026 in her office in Scottsdale, Arizona.
What Bermúdez Solano experienced reflects what immigration attorneys, former judges and advocates say they are increasingly dealing with in U.S. immigration courts. The second Trump administration has doubled down on policy changes intended to force cases to move quickly, they said, issuing a series of new directives to immigration judges that often emphasize efficiency without mentioning fairness. Dating back to Trump’s first term, the U.S. Department of Justice has used performance evaluations that only allow judges who meet certain case-processing quotas to qualify for the highest ratings. In 2025 and 2026, the Justice Department went further, issuing several policy changes, including: