Immigration courts within the Department of Justice are dramatically accelerating deportation proceedings by scheduling mass hearings, known as "mega masters," that include 100 or more respondents at once, according to immigration attorneys and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. The new tactic, which bundles cases together for initial master calendar hearings, represents a significant departure from the previous standard of two to three dozen people per session. The approach is being used in courts in Chicago, Boston and Chelmsford, Massachusetts, with expansion planned for Dallas, according to attorneys who spoke to NPR.
The strategy comes as President Trump has set a goal of deporting 1 million people annually, up from the approximately 600,000 removed in 2025. The administration has repeatedly pointed to immigration court backlogs numbering in the millions of cases as an obstacle to rapid enforcement. The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which runs the immigration courts under DOJ, did not respond to a request for comment on this new approach.
What the Right Is Saying
Administration officials argue the changes address systemic inefficiencies that have allowed immigration courts to become a bottleneck for enforcement. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement: "The Trump administration is committed to reestablishing an immigration judge corps that is dedicated to restoring the rule of law in our nation's immigration system." The DOJ last week onboarded 77 new immigration judges and 5 temporary military lawyers serving as judges, part of an effort to hire 153 immigration judges this fiscal year, the most in any single year.
The hiring push comes after EOIR lost approximately a quarter of its immigration judge corps last year when more than 100 judges were fired. An NPR analysis found that judges with backgrounds representing immigrant clients were more likely to be terminated compared to those with prior Department of Homeland Security experience. Supporters say the administration is taking steps to address court backlogs that have allowed some individuals to remain in the country for years while awaiting resolution of their cases.
What the Left Is Saying
Immigration advocates and Democratic lawmakers say the mega master hearings undermine constitutional due process protections for vulnerable populations. Vanessa Dojaquez-Torres, practicing policy counsel at AILA, told NPR that the hearings largely target people without legal representation, who may not receive adequate notice of rescheduled dates. "The major concern is that this is going to be a group of people without attorneys, that they're not going to have gotten proper notice," Dojaquez-Torres said. She added that courts often lack sufficient seating for hearings with so many participants and suggested the format appears designed to maximize automatic deportation orders. "So it's almost like they are being designed to increase how many people get deportation orders automatically."
A Texas-based immigration attorney, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of professional retaliation, said immigrants whose original hearings were scheduled for 2027, 2028 or even 2029 are having their cases moved up with minimal notice. "They're anticipating that the majority will not show up and they'll just be able to say that they completed X number of cases because they'll be in absentia orders of removal," the attorney said.
What the Numbers Show
The scale of change in immigration courts under this administration is significant. The backlog of pending immigration cases stood at approximately 3.6 million before these changes, according to federal data. The administration deported roughly 600,000 people in 2025 and has set a target of 1 million deportations annually going forward. Immigration courts previously handled initial hearings with groups of 20 to 36 respondents; the new mega masters involve 100 or more individuals simultaneously. EOIR hired 153 immigration judges this fiscal year, up from typical annual hiring of fewer than 50 in previous years, according to DOJ records. Approximately 25 percent of the existing immigration judge corps was dismissed last year, with additional terminations occurring even as new hires came on board.
The Bottom Line
The shift toward mega master hearings represents one of the most significant operational changes to immigration courts in recent history and reflects the administration's broader effort to accelerate deportation proceedings. Critics argue the format disproportionately affects unrepresented respondents who may not receive adequate notice of hearing changes, raising legal questions about due process protections under the Fifth Amendment. The administration contends it is addressing systemic inefficiencies that have allowed cases to languish for years. Both sides agree that the outcome of these hearings will shape the trajectory of hundreds of thousands of immigration cases in the coming months. Legal advocates say they are preparing challenges to any deportation orders issued through this process, while DOJ officials have signaled their intention to continue expanding court capacity to meet the president's enforcement goals.