Military lawyers to be assigned to the DOJ

Pete Hegseth Issues New Directive to Send Military Lawyers to DOJ

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered the military to assign dozens of attorneys to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for temporary duty in Memphis and along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press (AP).

A Defense Department official told Newsweek: "At the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Department of Defense is detailing attorneys from the Judge Advocate General's Corps to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia."

"Filling critical vacancies, these attorneys will represent the United States in its D.C. Superior Court as Special Assistant United States Attorneys," the official said. "The Department is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our law enforcement partners, bringing the skill and dedication of America's service members to deliver justice, restore order, and protect the American people."

The Trump administration is carrying out the largest deportation of illegal immigrants in U.S. history, and immigrants with both illegal and legal residency have been detained.

Immigration advocacy and human rights groups have launched legal challenges against elements of the administration's policies, including deportations to third countries and the cancellation of some immigrants' legal status.

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