Oregon's immigration attorneys are raising alarms about a new practice at the Portland Immigration Court. Instead of scheduling cases one at a time, the court has begun summoning dozens of immigrants to appear together for the same so-called "mega master" calendar hearing, often on short notice.

Reports suggest the practice took hold in Oregon as far back as February, when a large group of Somali immigrants were summoned together. Similar mass hearings have since shown up in other states, and attorneys say Portland's have grown more frequent this summer.

According to Oregon immigration attorney Alicia Vial Beesley, the people being funneled into these crowded hearings are disproportionately those without a lawyer. That matters because immigration court is one of the few areas of U.S. law where the government is not required to provide an attorney to someone who cannot afford one, meaning the people least equipped to defend themselves are the ones being pushed through fastest.

Bunching dozens of unrepresented immigrants into one rushed hearing is not ordinary case management. It is a shortcut that risks turning deportation into a numbers game instead of a fair legal process. Every person facing removal from the country deserves individual consideration of their case, not a spot in a crowd.

Sign the petition to demand the Portland Immigration Court end mass "mega master" hearings and guarantee every immigrant a fair, individual day in court, before due process becomes an afterthought.