Politics & Government Active Updated Aug 1, 2026
The mega master deportation surge
Trump administration mega master immigration hearings are compressing docket windows in New York's immigration courts, pushing in-absentia removal orders to more than double in June to 4,447. Hearing notice has collapsed to a median of 42 days, and immigration attorneys say many people learn of new dates only through an online portal, not by mail. The fight is over whether people ordered removed for missing hearings they never knew about can get their cases reopened.
The story so far
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Aug 1, 2026 Latest
Roughly 1,400 migrant children statewide risked facing deportation court without a lawyer once a federal legal-aid contract lapses Friday, Chalkbeat reported, as a separate push to accelerate children's asylum cases threatened to hasten their deportations, New York Focus reported.
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Jul 22, 2026
In-absentia removal orders at New York City's immigration courts more than doubled in June to 4,447, as mega master hearings compressed dockets to more than 100 cases a day under a single judge and cut median hearing notice to 42 days, down from roughly 180 days, according to a bklg.org analysis reported by The City Reporter.
Gothamist 
New York Focus 
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