Due Process Under Pressure in Miami's Immigration Courts

I want to bring your attention to something happening right now, right here in South Florida, that I believe deserves more of our attention.

What the Reporting Shows

According to reporting by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of NPR, Miami's immigration court has begun using a new scheduling approach known as "mega master" calendar hearings. Under the previous system, each judge handled around three dozen cases a day. Under the new approach, judges are now regularly seeing dockets of more than 100 people at once.

The reporting states that this shift has led to a sharp rise in deportation orders issued when someone does not appear for their hearing. Nationally, more than 54,000 immigrants were ordered deported in July for missing a court date, similar to the 56,000 recorded in June, both reflecting a roughly 60 percent increase over the prior months. In the Miami immigration court specifically, these in-absentia orders rose from 1,383 in May to 2,886 in July, an increase of 108 percent. According to the reporting, the docket has grown for three main reasons: a record number of monthly arrests, court dates originally scheduled for 2027 being moved up, and cases previously considered low priority now being required to appear.

Immigration attorneys quoted in the reporting note that when large numbers of people are placed on a single docket with limited notice, it becomes harder for the court to notify people in time and harder for people to find legal representation, which in turn increases the chance that someone misses their hearing entirely.

Why This Matters to Me

I held Temporary Protected Status myself, years ago, before I became a United States citizen. I know what it means to depend on a court system to treat your case fairly and to give you a real chance to be heard. Due process is not a technicality. It is the difference between a family being able to plead their case and a family losing everything because a notice arrived too late or a hearing date changed without enough warning.

Where I Stand

I believe America has every right to secure its borders and to process immigration cases in a timely way. But timeliness and fairness are not opposites, and a system should not be judged only by how quickly it can move people through, but by whether every person in that line still has a real chance to be heard.

Why I'm Running

I am running for Congress because families in District 20, and families like the one I once was, deserve a representative who understands what due process actually means in practice, not just in theory. That is the kind of leadership I intend to bring to Washington.

Source and Attribution

Martínez-Beltrán, Sergio. "New immigration court tactic leads to huge lines and chaos in Miami." NPR, September 2, 2026.