The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently focused on hiring immigration judges, Newsmax reported on the 30th (local time).

As part of an effort to accelerate deportation proceedings and strengthen enforcement, the DHS is urging Americans to "be a judge" and apply to the Department of Justice as immigration judges. The administration emphasizes that this role is key to restoring the system's credibility, which conservatives claim has been eroded by fraud and years of lax enforcement.

"Be a judge" was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Department of Homeland Security on the 30th, appealing, "Join @TheJusticeDept as an immigration judge and write the next chapter for America. Fight those who seek to exploit fraud and vulnerabilities in our immigration system."

The Department of Justice's new careers page features a recruitment message describing the position in sweeping terms that shape the nation.

"Let's write the next chapter for America together," the Department of Justice says. "Apply today to become an immigration judge."

The site lists a salary range of $159,951 to $207,500 and states that new federal employees assigned to specific high-cost areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and various cities within California will receive a 25% recruitment incentive on their base salary.

The careers page explains that judges "preside over cases in federal immigration courts, deciding whether a foreign national should leave the United States or be allowed to stay," while also "making decisions that result in generational outcomes."

It further emphasizes that the work includes ensuring "only foreign nationals with legally valid claims are allowed to remain," taking "anti-fraud measures," and blocking attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in immigration enforcement.

This hiring expansion comes as the Trump administration has been expanding Department of Homeland Security personnel and enforcement capabilities through substantial budget increases and a nationwide hiring campaign.

With a budget increase of $75 billion, the Department of Homeland Security had promised a significant ramp-up in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations at the end of October, after recording what officials described as a record number of applicants.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that over 175,000 applications were received for ICE agent positions, and between 1,200 and 1,500 new agents have already been deployed as part of the "Defend the Homeland" operation.

Thousands more are expected to be deployed soon, and DHS officials have indicated a focus on apprehending and deporting undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes, particularly in "sanctuary jurisdictions."

This stepped-up enforcement has made the capacity of the immigration court system a major bottleneck and political flashpoint.

Conservatives have long argued that the backlog in immigration courts allows undocumented immigrants to remain indefinitely, rendering deportation orders meaningless.

They say increasing the number of immigration judges is a practical way to accelerate deportations while ensuring due process and preventing indefinite delays.

The Department of Homeland Security has highlighted its broad hiring success across multiple agencies.

In a December 19 press release, the department stated that ICE had received over 220,000 applications since the campaign's inception and plans to hire 10,000 new agents by the end of 2025.

The Department of Homeland Security also reported significant increases in hiring for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and record-high applications for USCIS's "Homeland Defenders" program, the Secret Service, and the Coast Guard.

The push to increase immigration judges is seen as the next step in this effort, aiming not only to enforce immigration laws on the ground but also to ensure the court system can keep pace.

By Hong Seong-gu, Editor-in-Chief, NNP USA / Special Correspondent NNP info@newsandpost.com