Hegseth orders the military to detail dozens of attorneys to the Justice Department, AP learns
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth The military has been directed to provide dozens of lawyers to the Justice Department for temporary assignments in Memphis and near the U.S.-Mexico border that could last until next fall, according to a memo released this week and reviewed by The Associated Press.
“I am ordering you to collectively identify 48 attorneys and 4 paralegals from your Military Department who may be in line with the details,” Hegseth wrote in a memo sent to the four units and the Chief of Staff on Monday.
The memo appears to be the latest effort to send military and civilian lawyers who work for the Pentagon to the Justice Department, this time to personnel offices at the U.S. southern border or at the federal level. Enforcement operations against immigrants continue.
Last month at the Pentagon Approval was given to send up to 600 military lawyers In a separate effort, he was assigned to the Justice Department to serve as a temporary immigration judge. The Trump administration has increasingly turned to the military to support its crackdown on immigrants. Being deployed to the southern border and a a number of American cities.
This week’s memo states that the Justice Department is seeking 20 attorneys to support its offices in Memphis. National Guard deployed By President Donald Trump; 12 for West Texas – specifically for the cities of El Paso, Del Rio and Midland – and three attorneys and two paralegals for Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Although the document does not specify what type of case the volunteers will be asked to bring, it does say that ideally the attorneys should have “significant experience” in immigration and administrative law, in addition to general prosecution and litigation experience.
The Pentagon said in a statement that it was “proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement partners, demonstrating the skill and dedication of America’s service members to deliver justice, maintain order and protect the American people.”
The Justice Department also confirmed the note’s authenticity but did not provide additional details about the reason for the request or what the lawyers would do.
As with the previous demand for hundreds of military lawyers to work as immigration judges, it is not immediately clear what impact removing a growing number of lawyers will have on the armed forces’ justice system. Lawyers, called judge advocates, have a variety of duties similar to civilian lawyers, such as handling prosecutions, acting as defense attorneys, or providing legal advice to soldiers.
According to the statement, the new request follows a request on September 26 for 35 lawyers from the Ministry of Justice and two paralegals from the army. It was not immediately clear whether that number was in addition to the 48 attorneys requested this week.
The AP also reviewed a Sept. 12 email to military lawyers that said the Pentagon was seeking volunteers to be special assistant U.S. attorneys in West Texas and New Mexico, but did not specify the total number.
It’s unclear how successful the Pentagon is at getting lawyers to volunteer, but at least some services are forwarding the case to their lawyers with messages similar to the one sent by the military’s top lawyer.
“These roles offer a unique opportunity to develop your advocacy, courtroom procedure, and functional knowledge of the federal legal system for future use in our military justice system or civilian cases,” Maj. Gen. Bobby Christine said in an email reviewed by the AP.
Christine said the work would “support national priorities”.
But Hegseth’s memo states that the agency only has until Thursday to identify attorneys and implies that troops are subject to mandatory mobilization orders.
The Army and Navy did not respond to questions about how many lawyers from their services were sent to the Justice Department. The Air Force referred questions to the Pentagon.
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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
