Maryland immigrants are being ordered, sometimes with only days' notice, to travel more than 30 miles to an unfamiliar federal building in Washington, D.C., to attend virtual hearings before immigration judges sitting in Baltimore, with those who fail to appear risking deportation orders.
On Sept. 9, 76 people from across Maryland reported to the Washington location, according to The Baltimore Banner. Eight of the 32 immigrants scheduled for the afternoon session did not appear and were ordered deported in absentia.
The Washington building is not listed as an immigration court, and The Banner reported there were no signs directing people to the hearing room. Some immigrants searching for it repeatedly entered a McDonald's on the building's first floor.
Many attendees said their hearings had originally been scheduled for later in the year before being moved forward with little warning. One Haitian woman learned about her hearing only after checking her online case portal, according to a community advocate accompanying her.
The Banner's findings follow an NPR investigation published earlier this month that documented similar scheduling changes affecting cases originally assigned to immigration courts in Baltimore and Hyattsville, Maryland, and Sterling, Virginia.
NPR reported that immigrants were being redirected on short notice to buildings in Washington and Falls Church, Virginia, that were not established locations for regular in-person immigration hearings. Five immigration attorneys told NPR about the changes, and the outlet identified at least two cases in which immigrants did not receive mailed notice.
Justice Department regulations generally require at least 10 days' notice before a hearing. The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it was opening new hearing locations and making scheduling adjustments as needed to handle cases "in a timely and lawful manner." The administration has cited an immigration-court backlog exceeding three million cases as a reason for accelerating proceedings.
David Koelsch, a former Baltimore immigration judge appointed during President Donald Trump's first term, told The Banner the arrangement was "stacking the deck," arguing that short-notice hearings at unfamiliar locations could increase no-shows.
Andrew Arthur, another former immigration judge, offered a different explanation, saying Baltimore's immigration court lacks sufficient space and that using another federal building could provide additional capacity while preserving immigrants' ability to appear before a judge.
