New immigration court data show tens of thousands of migrants are choosing voluntary departure rather than continuing asylum or humanitarian claims while facing prolonged detention during the Trump administration’s expanded deportation efforts.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Immigrants facing removal proceedings are increasingly abandoning humanitarian claims and agreeing to leave the United States voluntarily as detention levels rise and immigration enforcement policies tighten under the Trump administration.
According to immigration court data reviewed by The Washington Post, immigration judges issued more than 80,000 voluntary departure orders between January 2025 and March 2026, a dramatic increase compared to the final 15 months of the Biden administration.
Voluntary departure allows immigrants to leave the country on their own terms without receiving a formal deportation order, potentially preserving the possibility of legal reentry in the future. Individuals who accept the arrangement waive ongoing efforts to remain in the United States through asylum or other humanitarian protections.
Court data obtained by the Vera Institute of Justice showed that more than 70% of migrants granted voluntary departure during President Donald Trump’s second administration were being held in immigration detention at the time they requested to leave.
The figures represent at least a sevenfold increase over the approximately 11,400 voluntary departure orders issued during the final 15 months of the Biden administration.
The trend has emerged as one of the clearest statistical shifts during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. Federal officials have promoted voluntary departure options through social media messaging and informational materials distributed in detention facilities and immigration courts.
Researchers with the Vera Institute concluded in a report that the increase coincides with expanded detention policies and reduced releases from custody.
“These changes come at the same time as the number of people who are detained and facing deportation is increasing and relatively fewer people are being released from detention,” Vera researchers Jacquelyn Pavilon and Neil Agarwal wrote. “Altogether, Vera’s analysis illuminates how voluntary departure is being used in the second Trump administration to require more people to leave the United States.”
Voluntary departure has long existed under federal immigration law for individuals facing removal who may not qualify for relief in immigration court. Applicants generally cannot have serious criminal records and must demonstrate good moral character. Those granted voluntary departure are typically required to pay for their own travel and leave within deadlines established by immigration judges.
The Department of Homeland Security declined to comment directly on the sharp increase in departures but defended expanded detention policies and immigration enforcement efforts.
“Biden and [then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] recklessly unleashed millions of unvetted illegal aliens into American communities — and they abused many loopholes to do so,” DHS said in a statement. “President Trump and Secretary [Markwayne] Mullin are now enforcing this law as it was actually written to keep America safe.”
The Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts under the Justice Department, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Data cited in the report showed that immigration judges issued an average of roughly 750 voluntary departure orders per month during the latter half of the Biden administration. Those totals rose sharply after Trump returned to office and expanded interior immigration enforcement operations.
The increase accelerated significantly after federal policy changes affecting detention and bond eligibility. In July, one month after large-scale immigration raids in Los Angeles, the number of voluntary departure orders jumped to 6,370. During the same month, acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a memo declaring that migrants who entered the country illegally would no longer qualify for bond hearings during removal proceedings.
The policy shift resulted in many immigrants remaining in custody for the duration of their immigration cases, although some later challenged their detentions successfully in federal courts.
By March 2026, more than 9,000 immigrants received voluntary departure permissions in a single month.
Shayna Kessler of the Vera Institute said many detainees increasingly view voluntary departure as the only realistic way to leave detention.
“People are taking it because they’re trying to get out of detention more quickly, because they don’t see any possible avenues for relief for themselves,” Kessler said. “It really appears as though it’s a component of this mass deportation agenda where people are being encouraged to depart even when they have potentially a lawful right to stay.”
Migration Policy Institute analyst Ariel Ruiz Soto also linked the trend to expanded detention and reduced access to bond hearings.
“It’s pretty clear that the trend has increased, that more people in detention are seeking voluntary departure as an alternative to staying in detention,” he said.
The report detailed several individual cases involving detainees who ultimately abandoned asylum claims while in custody.
One 33-year-old Christian immigrant from the Middle East, detained after an ICE check-in appointment, reportedly suffered panic attacks and solitary confinement while awaiting proceedings. His brother said the man feared both detention conditions and potential return to his home country, where he alleged prior religious persecution.
“He told me: ‘Look, I am dying here anyway. I’d rather die in my country instead of going to a place where I’m going to die,’” his brother said. “‘I cannot live without freedom.’”
The report also highlighted the case of Roman Husar, a Ukrainian artist who entered the United States under a Biden-era sponsorship program for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. Husar later sought voluntary departure after being detained in Texas following a marijuana possession arrest while returning from Nevada.
The misdemeanor charges were later dismissed, according to court records and his attorney.
Husar said he feared deportation to Ukraine, where he claimed he could face imprisonment for refusing military service as a conscientious objector.
“I was expecting real justice,” Husar said. “I was really surprised.”
After withdrawing his asylum request, Husar was granted permission to depart voluntarily to Turkey or Poland rather than Ukraine.
Jennifer Peyton, Husar’s attorney and a former immigration judge dismissed during the Trump administration, argued that such departures are not truly voluntary.
“This type of voluntary departure is not voluntary,” Peyton said. “It’s coerced.”
The Vera report also found that recently appointed immigration judges with limited prior immigration law experience were disproportionately assigned to detention cases and granted voluntary departures at higher rates than longer-serving judges.
Texas recorded the highest number of voluntary departures during a recent six-month period with approximately 12,400 cases, followed by Louisiana with 5,400. Florida, Georgia, and California each recorded more than 3,000 cases, while New York reported roughly 1,500.
Federal detention populations also rose sharply during the period. According to TRAC immigration data, the daily number of detained immigrants surpassed 70,000 at its peak before declining to approximately 60,000 in April.
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