The dismantling of EOIR's Judicial Conduct and Professionalism Unit
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I recently wrote a piece for Justice Connection on the dismantling of the Judicial Conduct and Professionalism Unit — JCPU — at the Executive Office for Immigration Review. From June 2024 until January 20, 2025, I held the senior leader position created to run JCPU: a role appointed by the Attorney General and situated outside the immigration court chain of command, designed specifically so that allegations of judicial misconduct would be investigated by someone who did not also supervise the judges in question.
The 2024 reforms were a meaningful structural improvement. JCPU brought uniform standard operating procedures for processing complaints, coordination with DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, the Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a docketing process designed to filter frivolous complaints early, and the authority to recommend that judges accused of serious misconduct stop hearing cases pending investigation.
That structure was dismantled at the start of this administration. The senior leader position was eliminated. No one outside the agency now knows who runs JCPU, what procedures govern intake and adjudication of complaints, or how disciplinary outcomes are being reached. At the same time, the administration is filling the immigration judge ranks with hundreds of military attorneys serving as temporary judges without immigration law experience or training.
For respondents, counsel, and institutional stakeholders watching the immigration courts, the implications are significant.
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