Chelmsford Immigration Court Collapses Under Policy Shifts and Mass Resignations
The Chelmsford Immigration Court, launched in April 2024 to tackle a backlog of nearly 4 million cases, has faced severe disruptions under policy shifts introduced during the second Trump administration. Judges and staff have described the court as a 'bad social experiment', with many leaving due to a toxic work environment and mass layoffs. The court opened as part of a Biden-era push to clear the immigration case backlog. By early 2025, the total number of pending cases had dropped from 3.7 million to 3.34 million. Yet, despite this progress, individual judges saw their caseloads grow significantly.
On January 27, 2025, Acting EOIR Director Sirce Owen released a memorandum that challenged the agency’s long-standing tradition of judicial independence. The changes led to a sharp decline in asylum approvals: in March 2025, courts granted asylum to 2,753 applicants, but by March 2026, that figure had fallen to just 700.
Nina Fróes, an immigration judge at Chelmsford, received an email titled NOTICE OF NON-CONVERSION on April 10, 2025. The message forced her to halt an ongoing hearing. She had already anticipated termination, as the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) had begun mass layoffs of judges. Fróes later criticised the court’s new direction, calling it a failed experiment that pushed experienced staff out.
In May 2025, Judge George Pappas filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department, claiming his dismissal was unjust. Around the same time, Sarah Cade, another judge, resigned. Both cited the agency’s shifting policies and a deteriorating work environment as key reasons for their departure. The Chelmsford Immigration Court now operates with fewer judges and a drastically reduced asylum approval rate. Policy changes have reshaped its operations, leading to legal challenges and a wave of resignations. The long-term effects on case processing and judicial independence remain uncertain.
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