‘Hidden Tribunals’: Immigration Courts Shift to Undisclosed Locations Amid Due Process Concerns

Immigrants across the Mid-Atlantic region are being directed to attend in-person hearings at previously undisclosed government buildings, sparking concerns among legal advocates that the strategy undermines due process. According to five immigration attorneys who reviewed notices or observed the proceedings, the sudden relocations appear to be part of a broader Trump administration effort to expedite arrests and deportations by bypassing standard notification protocols.

NPR reports that clients scheduled for hearings at the Hyattsville and Baltimore courts in Maryland, as well as the Sterling court in Virginia, have been redirected to two new sites: one in Washington, D.C., and another in Falls Church, Virginia. Neither building is currently designated for regular in-person immigration proceedings. The D.C. location, Federal Center Plaza, is occupied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency rather than the Department of Justice, according to a source familiar with the project.

Kel White, an officer with the D.C. chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, described the scenes as the most unusual she has encountered in over 15 years of practice. At a September 2 hearing in Falls Church, immigrants appeared in person before a judge and a Homeland Security prosecutor who participated remotely. White argued that the short notice and lack of transparency violate Justice Department regulations, which typically require at least ten days’ notification for rescheduled hearings.

“My concern about these hidden tribunals is that essentially people are not getting notice of them or that the mail would not arrive in time for them to even know that they need to go to court,” White said. Attorneys noted that such tactics disproportionately affect immigrants without legal representation, as failure to appear—even inadvertently—can result in an in-absentia order of removal.

One Maryland resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect their case, discovered a hearing date change from December in Sterling to September 2 in Falls Church only through the MigraConnect app, having received no mailed notice. “Thank God I had that application because without it they would have put me on a path to deportation,” the individual said. Another attorney, Lucelia Justiniano, recounted a client in Maryland who was told her hearing was moved to Falls Church with only days’ notice, despite no prior public announcement of the venue’s opening.

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which oversees the nation’s immigration courts, stated in a statement that scheduling adjustments are necessary to handle cases timely as new judges are added. However, EOIR declined to answer specific questions regarding the new locations or why immigrants were being directed there. The Trump administration has frequently cited the immigration court backlog, which exceeds 3.5 million cases, as an obstacle to rapid deportation and has touted enforcement overhauls as a solution.

Legal professionals warn that these moves add confusion to an already opaque system. In the Falls Church location, which houses EOIR headquarters and the Board of Immigration Appeals, attorneys say the facilities were previously used only for remote adjudication, not regular courtrooms. Meanwhile, sources indicate the General Services Administration is urgently seeking to lease space for additional courtrooms by December, with requests for at least 10 new courtrooms across 18 potential sites, though no permanent facilities have been publicly announced.