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 surge is attributed to mandatory detention without bond policies and squalid conditions in detention facilities, which pressure immigrants to leave the U.S. even if they have legal rights to stay. Immigration courts have become a venue where these agreements are being negotiated at high rates.