politics
Voluntary Departure Orders for Migrants Rise Sharply Since January 2025
More than 80,000 voluntary departure orders were issued by U.S. immigration judges from January 2025 through March 2026. That figure represents a more than 600 percent increase from the 11,400 orders issued in the last 15 months of the prior administration. The New York Post reported the data, drawn from the Vera Institute of Justice and reviewed by the Washington Post.
May 8, 4:05 PM·2m read1 source
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U.S. The total marks a more than 600 percent increase from the 11,400 such orders issued during the last 15 months of the previous administration. Monthly figures have continued to climb. In March, more than 9,000 migrants received voluntary departure orders, up from 6,370 in July.
By comparison, roughly 750 migrants per month chose the option during the second half of the prior administration. Voluntary departure allows immigrants to leave the United States without a formal deportation order if they decide not to pursue their asylum claims.
The option has historically been available to those unlikely to qualify for asylum. Recipients must generally cover their own travel costs and cannot have a serious criminal record.
More than 70 percent of the 80,000 individuals who accepted voluntary departure since January 2025 did so from within federal immigration detention facilities. Advocates have said the trend reflects migrants seeking to exit detention more quickly when they see limited prospects for relief.
“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,” Shayna Kessler, a Vera Institute director, told the Washington Post. It is not clear how many of these cases overlap with a self-deportation program promoted by the current administration.
That program allows migrants to report via a Department of Homeland Security app in exchange for a cash stipend and a free flight home.
