Some immigration judges frustrated over administration policy they claim chips away at their authority, are walking away from the bench, CNN is reporting.

In the past year, 45 judges have left, moved to new roles in the immigration court system or have died. In 2018, 24 judges left their posts.

In interviews with CNN, judges who left in recent months cite the Trump administration's policy changes on immigration.

"It was a privilege to be able to preside over so many different cases and be able to grant relief to people who needed relief," said Lisa Dornell, who served 24 years in Baltimore’s immigration court.

She stepped down in April.

"The toxic environment made it both harder and easier to leave," Dornell said.

Ilyce Shugall, who served as an immigration judge in San Francisco from 2017 until March of this year, said: "I felt then and I feel now that this administration is doing everything in its power to completely destroy the immigration court system, the board of immigration appeal and the immigration system in general. And I just couldn't be a part of that.”

Immigration judges are employees of the Justice Department and must follow the policies set by each administration.

The Justice Department is now faced with a backlog that tops one million cases, CNN said. As a result, some cases have been pushed back years.

Justice Department spokeswoman Kathryn Mattingly said officials do not track individual reasons for judge’s departures. She said the department plans for attrition.