Deported Without Notice? Ninth Circuit Says That Violates Due Process

What if you missed your immigration court hearing — not because you ignored it, but because the government sent the notice to an address you never gave them? That is exactly what happened to Raymundo Meza Medina. And in September 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that removing him without proper notice violated his constitutional right to due process under the Fifth Amendment.

What the court decided

Meza Medina, a Mexican national, was arrested by ICE in Tacoma, Washington in 2017 and placed in removal proceedings. When his brother posted a $20,000 bond to release him, the bond form asked for an address where the immigrant would reside — not a mailing address. His relatives filled in an address they got from a friend, because Meza Medina was still in custody and could not be consulted. The government then sent his hearing notice to that residential address. The notice came back undeliverable. The government made no further attempts to reach him — not by mail to any other address, not by phone, even though his correct telephone number was on the bond form. An immigration judge ordered him removed in absentia (meaning he was not present), and the Board of Immigration Appeals upheld that order.

Writing for the majority, Circuit Judge William A. Fletcher found that the government's conduct fell short of what due process requires. The address came from a third-party bond form that never asked for a mailing address. Meza Medina himself wrote in a sworn statement that he had provided the court with an address where he could receive notices. When the hearing notice bounced back as undeliverable, the government had a phone number it could have used — and did not. The Ninth Circuit vacated the removal order and ordered the case sent back to immigration court. Circuit Judge Roopali H. Desai dissented, arguing the record did not clearly show that Meza Medina had given the government a separate mailing address, and that whether the government took adequate follow-up steps was a fact-intensive question that should go back to the agency first.

Why this matters for people in removal proceedings

This ruling applies in the nine states covered by the Ninth Circuit: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. If you are in removal proceedings anywhere in the US, the case underscores a critical point: the immigration court will send notices only to the address on file. If that address is wrong — or if it is a residential address where you cannot receive mail — you may miss your hearing and face an in absentia removal order without ever knowing a hearing was scheduled. Filing Form EOIR-33 (the official change-of-address form for immigration court) is the only way to update your address in the court's system.

What to do

• Check the address the immigration court has on file for you. Call the EOIR court hotline at 1-800-898-7180 to confirm what address is listed on your case.
• If your address or phone number has changed — or was never correct — file Form EOIR-33 (the immigration court change-of-address form) immediately with the immigration court handling your case.
• If you received an in absentia removal order because you never got a hearing notice, lawyers recommend filing a motion to reopen as soon as possible and documenting why you did not receive notice.
• If ICE or a bond obligor filled out forms on your behalf while you were in custody, verify that the address listed is one where you can actually receive mail — not just a residential address.

What to do, step by step — see our guide “Immigration Court Rulings”.