Lines stretched out the front door of courthouses. Overflow seating set up in hallways. Classroom-style exchanges, with judges asking people to raise their hands in response to generic questions about their cases.

These are some of the scenes playing out in immigration courts across the country as the Trump administration increasingly turns to mass hearings in an effort to push more cases through the cumbersome immigration system.

These so-called “mega master” hearings – which pack upwards of 50 to 100 cases into a single proceeding – are meant to cut down the large backlog of cases in immigration courts run by the Justice Department, federal officials say. Critics argue the effort slashes the already limited due process that immigrants receive, giving them less meaningful time before a judge.

The hearings, which have ticked up since May, come as detentions and deportations have surged in recent weeks, according to data from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It also comes as the administration has made it easier for immigration authorities to deny asylum claims. Meanwhile, more children are being brought in front of immigration judges for mass hearings, including unaccompanied minors, legal observers say.

The controversial hearings are preliminary in nature and offer individuals an opportunity to enter pleas or request relief, such as asylum. They are similar to arraignments in criminal court and are typically the first time people appear before an immigration judge.

But while master hearings with 20 to 30 people have been commonplace for years, the sheer size of these recent hearings is concerning immigration attorneys who describe them as intentionally rushed and chaotic.

One of the central concerns is that immigrants are having their scheduled court dates moved up months or years, leaving them little time to prepare for the hearings. Critics also say the quick pace of the proceedings, coupled with confusion over how they operate, has meant more people are missing their court dates. Those who don’t show up are often subject to removal orders.

“This will push many more people into deportation proceedings,” said Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow with the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute.

Supporters say the effort could cut down the more than 3.4 million cases pending in immigration court, which has long been strained by severe backlogs.

“This is a very effective way to reduce the backlog,” said Matt O’Brien, a former immigration judge and the deputy executive director of Federation for American Immigration Reform, a group that advocates for stricter limits on immigration.

In a statement, the Department of Justice said: “Reducing the immigration court backlog remains one of the highest priorities for this administration. The Justice Department is restoring integrity to our immigration system by hearing cases fairly, expeditiously, and uniformly, in accordance with the law.”

Surge in mass hearings is ‘unprecedented’

Master hearings are short proceedings in which judges review the government’s charges and ask what, if any, legal relief an immigrant is seeking, as well as whether they have legal counsel. Judges will then schedule hearings where requests for asylum and other forms of relief are litigated.

In recent months, immigration attorneys have reported a sharp increase in the number of large-scale master hearings in immigration courts across the country, from Iowa and Texas to New Jersey and Massachusetts. Over 1,300 such hearings were held in June alone, a nearly threefold jump from the same period in 2025, according to data analyzed by Mobile Pathways, a nonprofit that tracks immigration court data.

Joseph Perez, an immigration attorney based in Virginia, said he’s had clients in hearings with 20 to 30 other people. These smaller hearings are more typical, and he described them as manageable not only for immigrants but for judges and court staff, too.

“These larger hearings go on all day,” he told USA TODAY. “It’s unreasonable.”

In Chicago, immigration lawyers described hearings with nearly 200 people before a single immigration judge. Respondents crowded the hallways and the inside of courtrooms. Once the proceedings began, the ones in the back struggled to hear judges as they asked questions like “How many of you have a lawyer” and “Are you claiming asylum?”

“The sheer scale of these ‘mega master’ hearings is truly unprecedented,” said Kiki Moseley, chair of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, at a July news conference in Chicago.

Some supporters of the larger hearings are concerned that the format could cause immigration judges to burnout.

“There is a danger there,” said Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies.

Burnout is what happened to former immigration judge Elizabeth Treacy, who resigned on June 22 after presiding over three large master hearings in Chicago that each listed between 130 and 150 people.

“Whenever you have a high volume of anything in any field, it leaves a possibility for error because of fatigue [and] because of the repetitive nature of what you’re reviewing,” Treacy told WBEZ Chicago. “I never wanted to make a mistake in those kinds of circumstances.”

In a statement, the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts under DOJ, said it “prioritizes the timely completion of all cases and makes scheduling adjustments as needed to ensure cases do not languish.”

“Unnecessary delay hurts both aliens with meritorious claims and the American public who wish to see aliens with non-meritorious claims removed as quickly as possible,” it added. “As it continues to add new immigration judges, EOIR will continue to make scheduling adjustments to ensure all cases are handled in a timely and lawful manner.”

More people aren’t showing up, surging deportation orders

These mass hearings have coincided with a sharp increase in the number of cases ruled in absentia, meaning the judge issued deportation orders after someone failed to appear in court.

Of the 10,370 people assigned to hearings in June, 58% were ruled absent, according to Justice Department data analyzed by Mobile Pathways.

Moseley and other immigration lawyers said officials provided little notice to people whose court dates were moved up by several months or, in some cases, years. Advocates said some didn’t show up because they’re scared of being arrested inside the courthouse – a tactic the Trump administration employed for months before it was blocked from doing so last year.

Other immigrants allegedly showed up but were issued removal orders because of chaos in the courthouse.

“We have witnessed immigrants being ordered removed for missing their court dates – not because they did not come to court, but because they arrived on time and amid the overcrowding and confusion, could not find the correct courtroom or hear their case being called,” Moseley said.

Immigration attorneys said the Trump administration is relying on the high rates of absentia orders to close cases, issue removal orders and funnel more immigrants into deportation proceedings.

University of Iowa law student Chase McLaren attended what’s believed to be the first “mega master” hearing in Omaha, Nebraska. McLaren said the judge issued orders in a “rapid fire” manner. Every person who did not attend the day’s hearing received deportation orders, McLaren told The Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Andrew Arthur, a resident fellow in law and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, largely pins the high number of absentia orders on the Biden administration, which he said failed to properly screen undocumented immigrants at the border.

Arthur also said the federal government has the burden of proving that they served a hearing notice at an immigrant’s last known address. If the government fails to do that and someone is ordered removed because they didn’t show up, the respondent can move to reopen the case.

“There’s a lot of due process built into the system,” he said.

Backlog has fallen under Trump, but courts still overwhelmed

Immigration courts are experiencing a backlog of over 3.4 million cases as of June, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts.

That number is down from 3.7 million a year earlier and a high of 3.9 million under the last year of the Biden administration, which oversaw a more than doubling of the immigration court backlog since 2021, according to government data.

“They’ve made great progress at driving down the backlog,” Arthur said of the Trump administration, noting that the number of pending cases decreased in fiscal year 2025 for the first time in over a decade.

To expand its mass deportation agenda, the administration has also carried out a record hiring spree of immigration judges, many of whom have past ties with the federal government and lack immigration law experience, records show.

For example, all the immigration judges working cases in Omaha have served as legal counsel for ICE within the last decade, with some serving in this capacity months before their appointments, The Des Moines Register found.

Immigration judges are part of the executive branch and are appointed by the U.S. attorney general rather than being confirmed by the Senate.

Immigration attorneys and legal experts have criticized the administration for what they call partisan hiring practices that emphasize loyalty to the president’s agenda over objective decision making.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it evaluates all immigration judges, regardless of background, on factors such as conduct, impartiality, adherence to the law, productivity and professionalism. The office added that all judges have a legal, ethical and professional obligation to be impartial and neutral in adjudicating cases.

Christopher Cann is a national reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him by email at ccann@usatoday.com.