Voluntary Immigration Departures Surge Under Trump's Mandatory Detention Policy

Voluntary departure agreements in U.S. immigration courts spiked to 89,494 cases as of May 1, 2026, more than seven times the volume recorded during the final 16 months of the Biden administration. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is targeting 1 million annual deportations and promoting the CBP Home App, which offers a $2,600 stipend and free flights to encourage self-deportation. While DHS claims over 3 million illegal aliens have left the country, some analysts suggest population drops in government surveys may reflect fear rather than actual departures.

Legal advocates and the Vera Institute of Justice attribute the surge to the second Trump administration's policy of mandatory detention without bond. Critics argue that squalid conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities—where 51 people have died since the inauguration—pressure immigrants to waive their legal rights to remain in the U.S. to escape detention. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit regarding the coercion of detainees at a facility in Broadview, Illinois.

Trump-appointed judges have also been reported to suggest voluntary departure to unrepresented immigrants, including a Colombian family in Newark. The constitutionality of the mandatory detention policy remains unsettled due to conflicting rulings in federal appeals courts, with a final decision expected from the Supreme Court of the United States.