The second Trump administration recorded its highest number of immigration arrests so far last month, driven by a sudden change in America's immigration courts where accelerated mass hearings and removal orders in absentia have become common.
More than 100,000 immigration cases were closed in June alone, with many ending in deportation orders. Coast to coast, judges are swiftly wrapping up cases in unprecedented numbers, often ordering vulnerable immigrants deported without them being present in court.
Mega-master hearings
Thousands of people received removal orders without ever having the chance to defend themselves, while others were shuttled en masse into crowded hearings that attorneys call "mega-masters." In Chicago, a single immigration judge oversaw as many as 185 fast-tracked cases in one sitting, compared with a more typical 20 previously.
From March to June, Chicago judges' orders greenlighting deportation shot up by 120%. More than 78% of completed cases last month ended in a removal order in absentia, where the judge decided an immigrant or asylum seeker should be deported because they were no-shows at their hearings.
Lack of notice and fear
Many immigrants said they never received a letter telling them their appointments had been rescheduled, often to months or years earlier. Others were scared to attend after high-profile arrests at immigration courts. The Chicago court schedules so many mass hearings with different judges that up to 611 people are told to arrive at the courthouse at once, causing chaos.
Immigrants who receive absentia removal orders unbeknown to them were probably going about their days, thinking they had filed applications for relief and unaware of any change to their court date or that they are now at imminent risk of deportation.
Impact of fast timelines
When a judge in Kansas City considered two dockets in early June, the first – where 93 people had a median lead time of at most 15 days – resulted in 56 absentia orders. The second, with 96 people having a median lead time of 196 days, ended with just nine, showing the disproportionate toll of mega masters with especially fast timelines.
By one count, mega masters last month resulted in more than 20,000 absentia orders nationwide – nearly two out of every five absentia orders in June, despite only a fraction of the country's roughly 700 judges presiding over these mass hearings.
Due process erosion
Absentia orders constituted more than two-thirds of all removal decisions from immigration judges last month, which totaled just under 79,000. Only 1,883 completed cases – fewer than 2% – ended with the person winning any form of relief.
This erosion of due process has the same consequences as visible immigration enforcement: more people detained in life-threatening conditions, and vanishingly few getting the justice they seek.
