Record Number of Immigration Cases Now Ending in Voluntary Departure, Report Says

Immigrants are giving up their claims in immigration court and opting to voluntarily leave the U.S. in exponentially higher numbers under the current Trump administration’s immigration crackdown than at any time previously, according to a new report based on federal data.

The report by the Vera Institute of Justice shows that the number of people in removal proceedings receiving “voluntary departure” decisions has risen dramatically — particularly among those held in federal detention.

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Voluntary departures in immigration court — in which a formal request to depart the country is approved by a judge, assuming the requester is legally permitted to leave — is different from self-deportations arranged through the Department of Homeland Security, in which migrants inform DHS they’re leaving the country in order to avoid potential detention or removal.

The report’s co-author told ABC News that while the number of voluntary departures is rising, it does not necessarily mean people want to leave the U.S.

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According to the report, voluntary departures surged from roughly 800 per month at the end of the Biden administration to more than 8,800 by February 2026.

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The group obtained the data via a Freedom of Information Act request from the Executive Office for Immigration Review, the federal agency that oversees the nation’s immigration courts.

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