# Surge in voluntary departures raises coercion concerns amid detention pressure  
**Published:** 2026-05-26T11:14:30.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/voluntary-departures-spike-as-immigrants-face-squalid-detention-pressure-to-leave/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/surge-in-voluntary-departures-raises-coercion-concerns-amid-detention-pressure

A surge in voluntary departure agreements in immigration courts is raising concerns that Trump administration tactics are unfairly pressuring immigrants into leaving the United States, even if they have a legal right to stay, according to [reporting by the Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/voluntary-departures-spike-as-immigrants-face-squalid-detention-pressure-to-leave/).

Voluntary departures during the second Trump administration reached 89,494 cases as of May 1, more than seven times the number recorded in the last 16 months of the Biden administration, according to a Stateline analysis of immigration court data. The dramatic increase reflects a confluence of policies: mandatory detention without bond, crowded detention facilities, and pressure from immigration judges appointed under Trump.

Nebraska has become part of this enforcement infrastructure. The state's Work Ethic Camp in McCook was converted into the "Cornhusker Clink," a federal immigration detention center that began accepting detainees in late 2025 and is expected to eventually house 300 immigrants. [Immigration attorneys in Nebraska](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/how-a-centuries-old-legal-tool-helped-nebraska-immigrants-leave-ice-detention/) have raised concerns about the mandatory detention policy and its effects on detainees.

Colleen Putzel-Kavanaugh, an associate policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute, said conditions in detention facilities are dire. "Especially in the locations where bond is unavailable, individuals may feel voluntary departure is their best option in those circumstances," she said.

Voluntary departure requires immigrants to pay for their own travel and face fines for delays, but offers an advantage over formal deportation orders: it preserves the possibility of legally returning to the United States. A federal judge in Oregon recently accused immigration authorities of using the threat of extended detention to "win the numbers game at the cost of debasing the rule of law."

Immigration judges appointed by Trump are also driving the trend. Court observers have documented a pattern of judges suggesting voluntary departure, particularly Republican-appointed judges speaking to immigrants without attorneys. The Trump administration has fired immigration judges seen as too lenient and hired new ones, with 82 new judges announced in May.

Shayna Kessler, director of the Vera Institute of Justice's Advancing Universal Representation Initiative, said immigrants often lack legal counsel when making these decisions. "We see people choosing to take voluntary departure, not because they don't have a right to stay in the United States, but because they can't handle being in these really inhumane conditions in detention any longer," Kessler said.

Since Trump's inauguration, 51 people have died in immigration detention facilities, according to ICE. The Department of Homeland Security aims to reach 1 million deportations annually.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/voluntary-departures-spike-as-immigrants-face-squalid-detention-pressure-to-leave/)
- [Nebraska Public Media - How a centuries-old legal tool helped Nebraska immigrants leave ICE detention](https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/how-a-centuries-old-legal-tool-helped-nebraska-immigrants-leave-ice-detention/)
- [Vera Institute of Justice - The Rise of Voluntary Departure in Immigration Court](https://www.vera.org/publications/the-rise-of-voluntary-departure-in-immigration-court)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/05/26/repub/voluntary-departures-spike-as-immigrants-face-squalid-detention-pressure-to-leave/.