Asylum seekers in the US are increasingly abandoning their cases and leaving the country.

People threatened with prolonged detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are increasingly abandoning applications for humanitarian protection and opting for voluntary departure, writes The Washington Post.

Under the Donald Trump administration, immigrants have become increasingly likely to abandon their applications for humanitarian protection and choose to leave the United States. The main reason is poor conditions in immigration detention centers.

From January 2025 to March of this year, immigration judges issued more than 80,000 "voluntary departure" decisions, according to court data obtained by the Vera Institute of Justice. These decisions are issued against immigrants who request permission to leave on their own terms, giving up the opportunity to build a new life in the United States. Formal deportation orders are not issued, which may facilitate their future legal return.

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"They'll kill me."

Roman Husar, a 37-year-old Ukrainian artist who arrived in the United States in 2023 with his wife, son, and cat named Fiona, said he requested a voluntary release from the Eden detention center in Texas in April after seeing hundreds of detainees returning from immigration court with deportation orders. As the months passed, the feeling of hopelessness grew.

"Here in Texas, no one gets asylum. No one," he assured. "People are rejected over and over again."

His situation changed dramatically under Trump. Husar's family arrived under the Biden administration's special program for Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. They settled in Georgia, and soon Roman was working three jobs: making cabinets, delivering food, and printing T-shirts.

"The United States government told me, 'Come here, we'll keep you safe,'" Husar said.

Trump suspended the sponsorship program for Ukrainians shortly after taking office. As a result, authorities never processed Roman's applications to renew his U.S. residency permit or grant him temporary protected status. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian hoped to stay. He lived in Georgia, paid taxes, and supported the Atlanta Hawks. Last summer, Roman attended the Burning Man festival in Nevada, where he organized an art installation to raise awareness of the war in Ukraine.

In September, Igor was stopped by Texas police while returning to Georgia from the Burning Man festival. He was arrested for possession of a small amount of marijuana, which is legal in Nevada but illegal in Texas.

Roman was transferred to an ICE detention center and an attempt was made to deport him directly to the war zone he had fled. Husar presented the judge with letters of support from his relatives—US citizens—and pastors from his church, but he was denied a bail hearing.

Department of Homeland Security officials claimed that Husar had violated the law while his application to remain in the United States was pending, and deportation proceedings were initiated. They did not explain why they were attempting to send him to a country at war.

Marijuana possession charges were dropped, according to court documents and his attorney.

He intended to apply for asylum on religious grounds, noting that he was a Christian, had participated in a religious music group, and was a staunch opponent of military service. If deported, he said, Ukrainian authorities could imprison him for refusing to fight. Or he could die in the war.

"They'll kill me," he claimed.

As the final hearing date approached, his case was assigned to one of the Trump administration's newly appointed immigration judges, Jared Kennedy, a former Texas prosecutor who, according to a press release announcing the appointment, had no experience in immigration law.

His lawyer, Jennifer Peyton, one of the immigration judges fired without explanation under Trump, told Husar that he had a strong case but that his chances of success were slim and he could face deportation to Ukraine.

Husar withdrew his asylum application and asked to be allowed to travel to Turkey or Poland, but not Ukraine. Kennedy agreed.

According to Peyton, voluntary departure gives Husar the opportunity to try to return to the United States "when the situation in his country and, perhaps, in our country, changes."

But, she said, it wasn't a truly voluntary decision.

"This 'voluntary departure' is not voluntary," she explained. "It is coercion."

"People are trying to get out of custody as quickly as possible."

The number of people declining immigration cases is at least seven times higher than the figures for the last 15 months of the Joe Biden administration, when 11,400 people took advantage of this option. More than 70% of those granted voluntary departure during Donald Trump's second term were in immigration detention centers at the time of their request.

This shift has become one of the most visible signs of the Trump administration's mass deportation campaign and appears to be part of a broader policy of removing millions of immigrants from the United States. Authorities are actively promoting this policy through social media, as well as through posters in detention centers and courthouses. Immigration attorneys note that the increase is due to the increasing pressure on people forced to spend extended periods in detention awaiting hearings in immigration court, where it has become significantly more difficult to obtain asylum.

"These changes occur simultaneously with an increase in the number of people in detention and subject to deportation, and a decline in the number of detainees released from detention," concluded Vera Institute researchers Jacqueline Pavillon and Neil Agarwal. "Taken together, the analysis suggests that during Trump's second term, the voluntary departure mechanism is being used to force more people to leave the United States."

Voluntary departure has long been a federally mandated option for those facing removal from the country, typically used by individuals with low prospects of winning their immigration case. To qualify, an immigrant must not have a serious criminal record and must demonstrate good character. They must leave the country within a time limit set by the judge and, typically, do so at their own expense.

During the second half of the Biden administration, judges issued an average of 750 voluntary departure orders per month. These figures began to steadily increase after Trump's return to the White House.

In July, a month after the Los Angeles raids, the number of immigrants granted voluntary departure permits jumped sharply to 6370. That same month, Acting ICE Director Todd M. Lyons issued a memo stating that immigrants who entered the United States illegally were no longer entitled to a bail hearing during deportation proceedings. This resulted in many remaining in detention for the entirety of the proceedings, although some were successful in challenging their detention in federal court.

This year, the number of voluntary departure orders has increased particularly sharply. In March, more than 9000 people received permission from a judge to leave the country. According to lawyers, many agree to this out of fear of indefinite imprisonment.

"People agree because they're trying to get out of detention quickly and don't see any real prospects for protection," said Shayna Kessler, director of the Advancing Universal Representation initiative at the Vera Institute. "This appears to be part of a policy of mass deportation, where people are encouraged to leave even when they potentially have a legal right to stay."

Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, noted that one factor in the increase was likely the inability to secure bail in immigration courts.

"I'd rather die in my own country."

The 33-year-old Middle Eastern man was detained by ICE in December after a routine appearance with an immigration inspector. According to his brother, he began experiencing panic attacks and chest pains, and repeatedly banged his head against the door while in solitary confinement. He has no criminal record.

He illegally crossed the US-Mexico border in 2024, was detained, and then released pending a hearing. His family asked not to be named because they fear for his safety both in an ICE detention center and in their home country.

His family said he was a Christian who had endured persecution in a predominantly Muslim country: he had been beaten, threatened, and had his car set on fire. During his detention, an ICE officer, according to his brother, mentioned the possibility of deportation to Uganda, and shortly thereafter, he decided to leave voluntarily.

"My brother told me, 'Listen, I'm already dying here. I'd rather die in my own country. I can't live without freedom,'" he reported.

Other immigrants said they dropped their cases because they didn't believe they could get a fair hearing.

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Trump's representatives fired more than 100 immigration judges without explanation and appointed new ones, often with minimal experience. Denials of asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection soared. According to the research organization TRAC, the number of people in detention daily doubled, peaking at 70,000 in January, then dropped to approximately 60,000 in April.

The Vera Institute found that the least experienced new judges disproportionately hear cases of immigrants in detention, where it is difficult to find a lawyer or prepare a defense. According to the report, they are more likely to approve voluntary departure than more experienced judges.

Over the six-month period from September to February, the states with the largest numbers of people agreeing to voluntarily leave were Texas (12,400) and Louisiana (5400). Florida, Georgia, and California each had more than 3000 such cases, and New York had 1500.

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