LatinoJustice Condemns Plan to use JAG Officers as Immigration Judges Undermining Due Process
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 2, 2025
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LatinoJustice Condemns Plan to use JAG Officers as Immigration Judges Undermining Due Process
Orlando, Florida – President Trump said yesterday that he would approve a plan proposed by Governor Ron DeSantis to deputize members of the National Guard to serve as immigration judges.
The officers, known as Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps officers, would be assigned to work on site at the new Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in the Florida Everglades to preside over immigration hearings for people detained and brought to the facility. JAG officers typically represent members of the armed forces in all military legal matters.
The following statement can be attributed to Lourdes M. Rosado, President and General Counsel at LatinoJustice PRLDEF:
“The proposed use of JAG officers as immigration judges at Florida’s new detention facility adds yet another unscrupulous twist to the mounting theater of cruelty that the administration is building to supplant an immigration system of rules and laws.
“The legal training these officers receive does not include any background on complex immigration law. Having them make life-and-death determinations on hundreds of cases to fulfill the state’s desire to set up a ‘one-stop shop’ to feed an immigrant removal machine shows a complete lack of care and respect for law and for the due process rights of the people placed in this facility.
“LatinoJustice will work with allies to fight against these efforts to marginalize and circumvent the rights of immigrants in Florida and elsewhere.
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About LatinoJustice
LatinoJustice PRLDEF works to create a more just society by using and challenging the rule of law to secure transformative, equitable and accessible justice, by empowering our community and by fostering leadership through advocacy and education. For over 50 years, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has acted as an advocate against injustices throughout the country. To learn more about LatinoJustice, visit www.LatinoJustice.org