A Chicago immigration courtroom had 125 people summoned Thursday morning, offering a crowded snapshot of a much larger shift: the city’s immigration court issued more in-absentia removal orders in June than any other court in the country. The surge has followed the spread of large “mega master” calendars, where dozens — and sometimes more than 100 — people are scheduled before a judge on the same day.
The packed dockets are creating confusion inside a court that observers say is not built for that volume. ABC7 Chicago quoted former immigration judge Sam Cole describing hallways filled with people trying to find the right courtroom, with some missing hearings even after arriving at the building.
The numbers are stark. A BKLG analysis of immigration court data found that Chicago recorded 6,012 in-absentia removal orders in June, compared with 1,267 in February — nearly a fivefold increase in four months.
Advocates say the spike is connected to hearings being moved or scheduled with little warning, creating a dangerous gap between the court’s calendar and what people actually know. Katie Curtin of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights told ABC7 Chicago that lists sometimes include more than 100 people, while National Immigrant Justice Center attorney Benjamin Levey said mail delays can leave people learning about a removal order at the same time they learn they had a hearing.
What The Government Says About The Crowded Calendars
The Justice Department has rejected the idea that the large calendars are designed to deny due process. The department said immigration courts are prepared to handle larger hearings, and that judges issue removal orders only after determining that proper notice was provided; the Executive Office for Immigration Review has said it is making scheduling adjustments and adding judges to move cases along.
What An In-Absentia Order Means
Under EOIR guidance, a person who does not appear for a master-calendar or individual hearing may be ordered removed in absentia. There is no direct appeal from that type of order, although a person may file a motion to reopen; federal law allows that motion at any time when the person can show the required hearing notice was not properly received.
The Chicago increase is part of a national jump. BKLG reported 53,808 in-absentia removal orders nationwide in June, and said Chicago’s share of completed cases resulting in those orders reached 78.5%; the group also found that the median lead time for non-detained master hearings had fallen to 42 days.
The backlog remains enormous even as the courts accelerate case processing. The latest EOIR workload table, generated July 24, lists 3,469,569 pending immigration court cases for fiscal year 2026’s third quarter. That leaves Chicago at the center of a national pressure test: how quickly the system can move cases without crowded calendars, short-notice changes and missed appearances producing thousands of removal orders in the process.
