Attorneys for the U.S. Department of Justice and an immigration judges union, bolstered by a team from Latham & Watkins, have officially begun wrestling over the DOJ’s attempt to decertify the union.

Tensions have been high between the National Association of Immigration Judges and DOJ’s Executive Office of Immigration Review for months, as they clashed over the standing of the union. The immigration judges claim that the effort is politically motivated, an allegation federal officials have refuted.