The Justice Department is rolling out a new court procedure that will reshape how your clients experience their first hearing. Immigration courts are now scheduling massive master calendar hearings—“mega masters”—that include 100 or more people at a time, up from two or three dozen people that had been typical before. The stakes are immediate: when someone does not appear for their scheduled hearing, even by mistake, the judge can issue an official removal order that allows immigration officers to detain and deport the person.
What changed
Immigration courts inside the Justice Department are drastically accelerating immigrants’ hearings and bunching them together with the goal of issuing more deportation orders, a tactic shared with NPR by immigration attorneys and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. These “mega masters” are made up of people whose original hearings were scheduled for 2027, 2028 or 2029.
These new hearings largely target people without lawyers representing them, and those who show up late, or not at all, are receiving removal orders, further truncating the already-limited due process available to immigrants. In some cases, little to no notice is being issued by the government by mail or electronically to immigrants or their lawyers, meaning those not regularly checking their online accounts could miss any changes.
The strategy of hosting mega masters comes as the DOJ announced its largest-ever class of new immigration judges, onboarding 77 judges and 5 temporary military lawyers serving as judges.
Why it matters
For your clients without representation, the risk is severe. Immigration attorneys worry that immigrants, especially those without a lawyer, may not know that their hearing dates had been rescheduled for a sooner date, leaving them vulnerable to deportation, with little to no notice being issued by the government by mail or electronically. Even if your client attends, if people do show up to the massive hearings, it could overwhelm court staff and judges, and overcrowd courtrooms.
Practitioners should also be aware that this is not the first time the agency has pushed to streamline cases under Trump’s second term, with EOIR also moving to quickly prioritize cases of people from specific nationalities including Somalis, Syrians and Iranians. Cases of juvenile immigrants are also being pushed up, their lawyers say.
The consolidation doesn’t uniformly hurt all clients. In some cases, attorneys said their clients may benefit from cases getting scheduled sooner, even if it increases pressure and creates sudden legal filing deadlines; however, most people in immigration court do not have a lawyer and are unlikely to see these benefits.
Way forward
-
Verify hearing dates immediately. Check the online immigration court system regularly and contact your clients proactively—do not rely on mail notice alone. Clients may not be aware their case has been moved forward months or years.
-
For unrepresented clients, flag the notification gap. Alert your community of the risk that mega masters target people without counsel. Point clients to free legal service providers, accredited representatives, or pro bono networks in your jurisdiction.
-
Prepare for compressed deadlines. If you take a client after hearing notification, expect a truncated window to gather evidence, file asylum applications, or prepare relief claims. Mega master acceleration may collapse typical 6-month preparation timelines into weeks.
-
Document notice defects. If your client was not properly notified and received an adverse order, preserve the record for potential reopening motions or appellate review based on due process grounds.
Disclaimer
Fola is a software company, not a law firm. Nothing here is legal advice. Verify the information against the primary source linked above and consult a licensed immigration attorney for guidance on your specific case or jurisdiction. Immigration policy and court procedures can change without notice.