Gothamist76%
NYC immigration courts are ground-zero for a new deportation tool: Mass hearings 20%
By Arya Sundaram81%
7/23/2026, 10:30:49 AM
Topics: Immigration, Justice System
BS Summary: This article contains 9 faulty reasoning types, including Confirmation Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Begging the Question, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 22.7% saturation with 190 hits. Analysis detected 721 faulty-reasoning hits from 836 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 34.3% and a BS Rank of 20% (17,070 of 21,176 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 80.60% of the article peer group.
Deportation orders to immigration court no-shows are spiking in New York City and nationwide, fueled by mass immigration court hearings that are frequently held with little notice and scheduled for 100 or more participants at a time, according to a new report by bklg.org, an organization analyzing immigration court data.
Immigration judges in New York City issued nearly 4,500 removal orders in June to people who didn’t show up to immigration hearings, up from the 2,000 to 3,000 such orders issued from January through May, according to the data.
The June total was the third-highest in the country, behind immigration courts in Dallas and Chicago.
Trump administration officials did not respond to requests for comment on the spike in deportation orders linked to the hearings — colloquially called “mega master hearings” — but federal officials have defended the mass hearings as necessary to clear a yearslong backlog in immigration cases.
The rise in such proceedings comes as the Supreme Court declined to review a lower court’s ruling requiring the federal government to take additional steps to notify immigrants of their hearing when notices are returned in the mail.
Immigration attorneys and advocates say the hearings shortchange immigrants who too often fail to receive notice that they have been summoned to court.
“They say they’re being efficient by having more master hearings at a time to try to deal with the backlog,” said New York City-based immigration lawyer Robert Tsigler.
“But it’s just manufactured chaos that’s stripping vulnerable people of due process.”
New York City immigration courts have held among the highest number of mass hearings in the country, and the highest number of people ordered deported in recent months, according to the bklg.org report and a recent analysis by immigration scholar Austin Kocher.
Here’s what else to know about the “mega master” hearings.
How do mega master hearings differ from regular hearings?
Preliminary immigration court proceedings are called master calendar hearings.
That’s where judges advise immigrants of their rights, inquire about their legal representation, and schedule future hearings, among other matters.
While a typical preliminary court hearing might address 10 to 40 cases, a mega master hearing might encompass 100 or more cases, all before the same judge at the same time, according to immigration attorneys.
Participants also are afforded far less notice to appear, sometimes just a few days, compared to the usual few weeks or months, according to the attorneys.
And in some cases, the lawyers say, they receive no notice at all.
What does this look like at New York City’s main immigration court?
In recent weeks, the city’s main immigration court at 26 Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan has featured long lines of people stretching down the hallway, all summoned for “mega master” hearings.
Likewise, courtrooms and waiting rooms have been packed with participants.
Some spaces are so crowded that participants sit on the floor.
All told, 39 mega master morning hearings have been held in New York City immigration courts between January 2025 and June 2026, with 26 in June alone, second only to the 41 held that month in Chicago, another immigration enforcement hot spot, according to Kocher’s analysis.
Only a few such hearings were held each month prior to the surge in recent months.
The data shows the hearings came alongside a sharp rise in removal orders issued in absentia nationwide — nearly 35,000 in May and jumping to nearly 54,000 in June, according to the bklg.org analysis.
What concerns are immigration lawyers and advocates raising about the hearings?
Many are sounding the alarm over what they say is an erosion of due process rights for immigrants in the name of increased efficiency.
They say many immigrants receive little to no notice of their hearings.
When people don't appear, judges may order their removal from the country.
Benjamin Remy, an immigration attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group, said the sheer number of people called to court at once raises questions about whether individuals are getting a true chance to discuss their concerns with the immigration judge.
“It's just people completely get caught up in that kind of grinder of bureaucracy,” Remy said.
What advice are lawyers giving to immigrants about the hearings?
Lawyers recommend that individuals with immigration court cases frequently check their hearing date — at this point, maybe even once a day, according to the National Immigration Project — to see if it has changed.
The information can be found online on the Executive Office of Immigration Review Automated Case Information website or on their hotline at 800-898-7180.
Tsigler also recommended individuals retain an attorney, who can receive notices of hearing changes on their behalf, and through a more streamlined electronic system.
If individuals miss a hearing, how people should proceed depends on the specifics of their case, according to the lawyers.
But the most common option involves making a motion to the court for reopening their case, according to Tsigler and Remy.
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