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Removal orders issued against immigrants who failed to appear for court hearings more than doubled in New York City in June, coinciding with the Trump administration's rollout of large-scale immigration proceedings known as "mega master" hearings, according to a new report by nonprofit data group bklg.org.
The report found that immigration judges in New York City issued 4,447 removal orders in absentia—against people who missed their hearings—in June, up from 2,189 in May. Nationwide, judges issued 53,808 such orders during the month, a 55% increase from May and the highest monthly total since the federal government began tracking the data in the late 1990s.
The increase reported by bklg followed the expansion of "mega master" hearings, which began in New York in early June after being introduced in Illinois and Massachusetts. Under the policy, a single immigration judge may handle more than 100 cases in a day, roughly double the size of a traditional master calendar docket.
Hearings that had previously been scheduled months or even years in the future were often moved up with only weeks—or, in some cases, days—of notice. According to bklg.org, the median advance notice for immigration hearings fell from roughly 180 days over the past several years to 98 days in May and just 42 days in June.
While federal law requires written notice of hearing changes to be mailed, many immigrants told The City Reporter they learned of new dates only after checking the Executive Office for Immigration Review's online portal. Missing a hearing generally results in an automatic removal order, although immigrants may later ask the court to reopen their cases if they can show they did not receive proper notice.
The City Reporter observed one of the first mega master hearings in New York in June, where Immigration Judge Arya Ranasinghe handled a docket of 121 cases. By the end of the day, 39 people and their family members who did not appear were ordered removed after the court determined notice had been provided. "I have such a voluminous docket today," Ranasinghe remarked during the proceedings.
Immigration attorneys and advocates argue the compressed scheduling increases the risk that immigrants will unknowingly miss hearings, particularly those without legal representation. Benjamin Remy of the New York Legal Assistance Group said many clients receive last-minute changes only through the online portal, forcing them to scramble to arrange travel, childcare and time off work.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review defended the policy, saying it is intended to reduce a backlog of more than three million immigration cases. In a statement, the agency said it "prioritizes the timely completion of all cases" and that reducing unnecessary delays benefits both applicants with meritorious claims and the public by resolving cases more quickly.
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