Immigrants pressured into voluntary departures amid squalid detention conditions
May 26, 2026
Voluntary departure agreements in immigration courts have surged to 89,494 cases as of May 1, 2026, more than seven times the number from the final 16 months of the Biden administration. The Trump administration's mandatory detention without bond policy is pressuring immigrants to leave voluntarily, even those with legal rights to stay. Detention facility conditions are described as dire, with 51 deaths reported since Trump's inauguration.
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