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Numbers of the Day May 8, 2026 · 8:05 pm ET Source: New York Post

80,000 — Voluntary Departures Under Restored Rule of Law

80,000+
voluntary departure orders issued Jan. 2025 – Mar. 2026 — a 600% increase over the prior 15 months

When the constitutional order is enforced as written, the numbers move. US immigration judges issued more than 80,000 voluntary departure orders in the first 15 months of the Trump administration — up from 11,400 in the final 15 months of Biden's term, according to Vera Institute of Justice data reviewed by the Washington Post. Over 70% of those departures originated from inside detention facilities. Said Vera Institute director Shayna Kessler: "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." The administration's position: the law is being enforced as it was actually written. Both the human cost of detention and the restoration of legal order deserve a plain accounting — the republic is owed honest numbers, not convenient ones.