Immigrants scheduled for hearings at immigration courts in Maryland and Virginia are being rescheduled to two new locations without adequate notice, according to five immigration attorneys who reviewed the notices and observed proceedings. One location is in Washington D.C. at Federal Center Plaza, which currently lacks immigration court facilities and is listed as occupied by the Federal Emergency Agency rather than affiliated with the Justice Department. The other location is in Falls Church, Virginia, at a building that houses the Executive Office for Immigration Review headquarters and the Board of Immigration Appeals but is not typically used for in-person immigrant hearings.
Attorneys are raising concerns that the short notice violates Justice Department policy requiring at least ten days’ notice before hearing date changes. In multiple cases, immigrants received notification only days before their scheduled appointments or were not notified at all. Kel White, an officer of the D.C. chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, described attending a hearing at the Falls Church location where both the immigration judge and the prosecutor appeared remotely while the immigrant was required to appear in person. She characterized this as reflecting “a lopsidedness in the system” and concerns that people are unaware of their hearings entirely.
The scheduling changes appear to target immigrants without legal representation, who comprise the majority of those seeking to remain in the United States. The consequences of missing a hearing are severe—immigrants who fail to appear can receive an “in-absentia order of removal,” allowing immigration officers to detain and deport them. The Executive Office for Immigration Review stated that it continues to add immigration judges and make scheduling adjustments to handle cases “in a timely and lawful manner” but did not address why immigrants were being directed to these locations or whether they constitute new official courts.
The Trump administration has prioritized reducing a backlog of approximately 3.5 million immigration court cases and has characterized the courts as obstacles to rapid deportation. A White House press release highlighted an “aggressive and successful immigration enforcement overhaul” affecting immigration courts. Meanwhile, the General Services Administration is reportedly conducting a surge to acquire space for the immigration court agency by a future deadline, with a public request for lease proposals identifying 18 potential locations requiring space for at least 10 courtrooms. However, no new buildings or facility conversions have been publicly announced for either the D.C. or Falls Church locations.
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