Mega Master Hearings Overload Chicago Immigration Court and Raise In Absentia Orders

Overview

• The Justice Department has grouped roughly 100 to 185 respondents into single morning 'mega master' calendar hearings to move large caseloads through immigration courts.
• Official data show a large share of people assigned to Chicago hearings were ruled absent, with nonprofits reporting a majority of June participants marked absent and a sharp rise in in absentia orders.
• Notice periods fell dramatically in Chicago, with median lead time collapsing from many months to just over a month, leaving little time for people to secure counsel or make travel plans.
• Observers and former judges report crowded waiting areas, clerical errors such as wrong language codes and misfiled cases, and at least one judge resignation after presiding over multiple mega hearings.
• The hearings take place in a system where immigration judges work under the Justice Department and respondents are not entitled to appointed lawyers, which critics say magnifies risks to due process and could accelerate removals.