Immigrants are electing to leave U.S. voluntarily in greater numbers than under Biden

The numbers of immigrants who are giving up on their claims for humanitarian protection and choosing to leave the U.S. are exploding under the Trump administration. 

From January 2025 through March of this year, immigration judges issued more than 80,000 "voluntary departure" orders, according to The Washington Post, which cited data from the Vera Institute of Justice. Immigrants who request to leave the U.S. and return home on their own terms receive the orders. 

Since they aren't formally deported, they may have an easier time returning legally in the future. 

The number of immigrants leaving on their own terms is seven times higher than the last 15 months of the Biden administration, when only 11,400 took voluntary departure orders. During the Trump administration, 70% of those granted the orders were being held in immigration detention when they made the request.