GEOFF BENNETT: The Trump administration will## temporarily assign military lawyers# to act as judges in immigration .. A statement released by the Pentagon spokesperson# says: "At the request of the Department of## Justice, the Department of Defense is identifying# qualified judge advocates and civilian attorneys## for details to serve as temporary immigration# judges.

These DOD attorneys will augment existing## resources to help further combat a backlog of# cases by presiding over immigration hearings."

There are a number of questions about# the implications of this novel move.

And, for that, we turn to James McPherson.# He was the undersecretary of the Army during## the first Trump administration# and also had a 25-year career in## the Navy, where he served as that# service's top lawyer in uniform.

Thank you for being with us.

And before we get to the implications, I# have t.. the expansion of the U.S. military# into a civilian judicial process?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

),# Former U.S.

Undersecretary of the Army:## Well, there's certainly a lot of legal# issues t.. not the least of which is whether or not it's# appropriate to appoint a commissioned officer## in the military to these positions, whether# or not it violates the Posse Comitatus Act.

There are some old Office of Legal Counsel# opinions out of the Department of Justice## that indicate it is legal, but in a very# narrow sense.

And whether that narrow sense## is met by appointing them as temporary# immigration judges is yet to be seen.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, how do the courtroom and# administrative law skills that JAG lawyers## develop in the military, how does that translate# into serving as temporary immigration judges, when## immigration law is so specialized and complex?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

): As you said,## it is very specialized and complex.

What's very interesting is, Thursday of last# week, the Department of Justice chan.. rules with regard to who's qualified to be a# temporary immigration judge.

Prior to Thursday## of last week, it required that they be# a retired immigration judge or retired## administrative law judge or have 10 years# experience in practicing immigration law.

As of Thursday of last week, the new rule# is any licensed attorney can be appointed## as an immigration -- a temporary immigration# judge.

I think, if a JAG is assigned to that,## they will come to it with a skill set that they# have as an attorney.

But they're certainly going## to need to have some training, have some# time to learn the various intricacies of## immigration law, because, as you said,# it's a very specialized practice area.

GEOFF BENNETT: And NPR is reporting that# these military lawyers will receive some## two weeks of training.

There is this# question, though, could their dual role## as members of the armed forces and now as# adjudicators of civilian immigration cases,## will that raise questions about# their independence and partiality?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

): It certainly# could raise questions along those lines.

Again, I would hope that any officer,# any commissioned officer would go into## that job understanding that their job is to# administer justice and would do just that,## and if they felt that they were being# pressured to do anything other than that,## they would step away from that# job and say, I can't do this.

GEOFF BENNETT: And immigration judges, as you# know, they have the power to revoke green cards,## to order deportations.

What concerns you# about assigning that authority to people## without significant, as we said,# immigration law experience?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

): Well, what# concerns me is that they could inadvertently## make mistakes, and those mistakes would# affect people's lives and would also## create issues on appeal to the# appellate courts, immigration courts.

I just don't think it's a very good idea.

I# find it ironic that they would utilize JAGs,## when our secretary of defense holds# them in such low esteem.

Indeed,## during his Senate confirmation hearing# before the Senate Armed Services Committee,## he referred to uniformed military attorneys# in very derogatory and quite obscene terms.

I'm surprised now that they view# them as having this skill set so## that within two weeks they can# learn this intricate area of law.

GEOFF BENNETT: The backlog that we mentioned is# nearly four million cases' long.

Do you see this## as a sustainable fix, even if it's a temporary# one, or is this a politically expedient move?

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

): I# don't think that it's attainable to## get through that backlog.

As you said, in January,## when this administration came in office,# there were over four million cases pending.

There are six -- their authorization for# 600 immigration judges -- many of them have## either quit or took advantage of the early# retirement plan under this administration,## and now there are great holes in that# court system that they hope to fill## by a temporary basis.

I'm not sure they# will be able to get through that backlog.

GEOFF BENNETT: James McPherson, thank you so much## for sharing your perspectives on this# late-breaking news.

We appreciate it.

REAR ADM. JAMES MCPHERSON (RET.

): Thank you.