Immigration Courts Schedule Larger Hearings to Process Cases Faster

Immigration courts inside the Justice Department have started scheduling master calendar hearings that include 100 or more people at once. The previous typical size was two or three dozen people. The hearings target individuals whose original court dates were set for 2027, 2028, or 2029.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which runs the courts, did not respond to a request for comment. , and will soon start in Dallas.

Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practicing policy counsel at AILA, said many people scheduled for the larger hearings lack attorneys. She added that courts sometimes issue little or no notice of the new dates by mail or electronically. " — Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practicing policy counsel at AILA (Npr) When people do not appear, judges can issue removal orders in absentia.

An NPR analysis last year found that fewer people attended hearings under the current administration.

Last week the Justice Department onboarded 77 new immigration judges and five temporary military lawyers serving as judges. The agency has hired 153 immigration judges in the current fiscal year, the most in any year. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that the administration is committed to restoring the rule of law in the immigration system.

The same week several judges were also fired, including in New York and California. The agency previously lost about a quarter of its immigration judges last year, with more than 100 removed. The larger hearings come as the administration seeks to increase annual deportations above the 600,000 recorded in 2025.