Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area et al. v. U.S. Department of Justice et al., Case No. 3:26-cv-11978 (N.D. Cal.)
Summary
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the National Immigration Project are suing the Justice Department for records about "mega master" hearings, in which immigration courts move up cases scheduled years out and call 100 or more people into a single hearing.
Beginning in spring 2026, news outlets reported that immigration courts in Chicago, Boston, New York, New Orleans, San Diego, and other cities were moving hearings originally set for 2027, 2028, and 2029 onto these mass dockets. Many people on these dockets never learned their court date had been moved. Under a 2026 Board of Immigration Appeals decision, anyone who misses their hearing, children included, must be ordered deported if the government shows notice was sent. Those who do appear may face courtrooms too crowded to hear their name called or understand their rights. The agency that runs the immigration courts has said almost nothing publicly about the practice.
The two organizations filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the federal law that gives the public a right to government records, seeking the Executive Office for Immigration Review's (EOIR) policies, communications, and data on deportation orders issued at these hearings under the Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuit alleges the agency stalled the request and missed the law's deadlines. The organizations are asking the court to order EOIR to search for and release the records on an expedited basis so they can warn affected communities, advise attorneys, and help people challenge deportation orders issued in their absence.
Co-counsel:
Plaintiffs are represented by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and the National Immigration Project.