Story perspectives

Trump Administration Packs Immigration Courts, Backlog Shrinks Amid Record Deportations

8/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration packed immigration courts and cut lead-times, causing missed hearings and deportations.
June saw over 1,300 “mega” master hearings and a 40% no-show rate, triple the prior year.
Deportation orders rose from 33,000 in January 2025 to about 79,000 by June 2025.
Abandoned cases are nearly five times the 2009 average.
Pending cases fell from 3.7 million to 3.5 million in fiscal year 2025, the first backlog decline in a decade.

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Story summary

U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration packed immigration courts and cut lead-times, causing missed hearings and deportations.
June saw over 1,300 “mega” master hearings and a 40% no-show rate, triple the prior year.
Deportation orders rose from 33,000 in January 2025 to about 79,000 by June 2025.
Abandoned cases are nearly five times the 2009 average.
Pending cases fell from 3.7 million to 3.5 million in fiscal year 2025, the first backlog decline in a decade.