On June 1, Manhattan immigration courts held their first ever "mega master" hearings — cramming 100 or more immigrants into a single courtroom to be heard by one judge in a single day. One judge had 121 cases on her docket. Another had 88. The vast majority of individuals were listed as having no legal representation. 

For many immigrants, this is their first appearance in court to try to make their case to be able to stay in the United States. These are not procedural formalities — they are the first and often only opportunity a person has to begin the legal process of fighting deportation. Those who show up late, or not at all, are receiving removal orders, further truncating the already-limited due process available to immigrants. 

Many of these people had their original hearings scheduled for 2027, 2028, or 2029 — they are being pulled forward with little to no notice by mail or electronically, meaning those not regularly checking online accounts could miss any changes entirely. 

This is not about efficiency. Immigration courts are drastically accelerating immigrants' hearings and bunching them together with the goal of issuing more deportation orders. NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams called it "pretty horrifying." It is a conveyor belt to deportation dressed up as a court proceeding. 

Due process is not a bureaucratic inconvenience. It is a constitutional right — one that belongs to every person who walks into an American courtroom, regardless of immigration status.

We're calling on the Department of Justice to immediately end mega master immigration hearings and guarantee every individual a fair, individual hearing with adequate notice and access to legal representation.

Photo: (AFP/Getty)