More than 100 veteran attorneys have departed the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation over the past year. According to former office attorneys, the unit has lost a third of its staff since January 2025. This brain drain threatens the government’s ability to defend deportation policies in court. The departures include mid-level and senior roles that spanned multiple administrations, leaving a void in the expertise required to manage the nation's legal borders.

In response to this attrition, the Justice Department is reassigning immigration lawyers to a new offensive: a mass denaturalization campaign. Per an Axios report, lawyers from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are being moved to U.S. attorneys’ offices across the country. Their mission is to identify and strip citizenship from naturalized Americans accused of obtaining their status through fraud. This shift reflects a commitment to the principle that American citizenship is a sacred trust, not a shield for those who deceive the state.

While some lawyers pivot to enforcement, others are preparing to seek restitution from the taxpayer. Michael Cohen, a former lawyer for the president, announced his intention to file a claim with the Justice Department’s new Anti-Weaponization Fund. According to CBS News, Cohen claims the issues that prompted the president to sue the government are identical to his own. The fund, which holds over $1.7 billion, was established to compensate those who claim they were targeted by previous administrations.

"The evidence before this Court sadly reflects an abuse of prosecuting power," wrote U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw on Friday. The judge was dismissing a criminal smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ruling that the prosecution was a vindictive retaliation. Garcia had successfully challenged his deportation last year, only to face a re-opened investigation into a 2022 traffic stop. The ruling serves as a reminder that the law must be a tool for justice, not a weapon for settling political or administrative scores.