The Trump administration is packing immigration courtrooms and giving less lead-time on hearings to clear a decades-long backlog, resulting in a historic rise in people missing court dates and being ordered deported. Immigration practitioners must now account for dramatically compressed timelines and heightened risk of in-absentia removal orders.
What changed
Dozens and often hundreds of immigrants’ cases are being assigned to individual judges in courthouses across the country in so-called “mega” master hearings, which have seen a significant increase this year. More than 1,300 such hearings were held in June alone, a nearly threefold jump from the previous June.
Courts have severely cut the length of time many people are getting to prepare for complex immigration proceedings, from about six months to often just a little more than a month.
The consequences are severe. At the start of the second Trump administration in January 2025, about 20% of people missed scheduled immigration court hearings nationwide; as hearing notice times shrunk, that no-show rate doubled to 40% by June. Almost 33,000 deportation orders were issued in January 2025; this June, there were about 79,000.
Why it matters
If your client misses a hearing in this environment, the consequences are now near-certain and final. Once a deportation order is issued, an immigrant’s asylum claim is almost always considered “abandoned.”
The compressed timeline creates two parallel risks:
- Notice risk: clients receive notice of rescheduled hearings in days or weeks rather than months, making it harder for you to reach them or for them to arrange time off work, childcare, or interpreters.
- Preparation risk: valid claims go unadjudicated. The combination of collapsed lead times and packed hearing blocks creates a schedule designed for people not to have their case heard, according to the chief operating officer of Mobile Pathways.
Way forward
- Calendar immediately. Any client with a pending removal-defense case should assume notice could arrive with weeks, not months, of lead time. Build in buffer time for reaching clients and gathering evidence.
- Client contact protocol. Establish a failsafe system to confirm client receipt of new hearing notices. Document all contact attempts in case of future appeals or motions to reopen.
- Docket review. Run a full docket sweep now to identify cases that may be rescheduled into mega master hearings. Prioritize evidence gathering for cases with the weakest prepared records.
- Settlement calculus. In-absentia deportation is now the baseline worst case. This may shift your risk analysis on continuances, voluntary departure, or settlement offers.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Fola Editorial is a technology company, not a law firm. Immigration law is complex and frequently changing. Verify this information against the primary source linked above and consult a licensed immigration attorney for advice on your specific case or filing strategy. Policy and operational changes can occur without notice; practitioners should monitor EOIR announcements and court dockets continuously.