Florida National Guard to Become Immigration Judges Under Proposal

Source: Newsweek

Published May 02, 2025 at 6:49 AM EDT


Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking President Donald Trump's approval to deputize the National Guard to serve as immigration judges.

"We're ready, willing and able to take it to the next level. We have submitted plans to DHS to say if this is approved, we will go off to the races. And we will be able to do really from soup to nuts, from apprehension to detention, even putting some of our people in the National Guard in line to serve as immigration Judges to process this. We can do it," DeSantis said on Thursday. Newsweek has contacted the office of Governor DeSantis for further comment via email outside of normal office hours.

Why It Matters

At a Thursday press conference, DeSantis appeared alongside Department of Homeland Security officials to promote Operation Tidal Wave. The Florida-led initiative partnered with federal, state, and local law enforcement to apprehend immigrants without legal status in the state. Florida has experienced broad collaboration between federal immigration authorities and local state agencies, as the administration mobilizes all available resources to carry out mass deportations—a key pledge of President Trump's return to the White House.

What To Know

DeSantis is seeking to expand the state's role beyond making arrests to include adjudication, proposing the use of National Guard members as immigration judges—pending approval from the Trump administration."These are not Article 3 judges. They are executive branch employees, basically. We can absolutely deputize judge advocates from our National Guard units to serve as immigration judges," he added.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/florida-national-guard-immigration-judges-ron-desantis-2067143