CBS News has given us some very good news! It seems that illegal immigrants detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, are giving up efforts to stay in the United States in greater numbers. In a tweet on Thursday, February 12th, CBS tweeted:
As pathways to freedom have narrowed in immigration courts across the United States, a record number of detainees are giving up their cases and voluntarily leaving the country.
Last year, 28% of completed immigration removal cases among those in detention ended in voluntary departure, a higher share than in any year prior, a CBS News analysis of decades of court records found.
That figure only appears to be climbing as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown widens and detention populations swell. The percentage of voluntary departures among those detained grew nearly every month of 2025, reaching 38% in December.
This is a smart move on the part of the illegals; if they voluntarily leave, rather than being forcibly deported, they’ll have a better case if they eventually apply for legal readmission. And, with three years left in the Trump Administration — and hopefully four years after that under J D Vance — they’re hopes of legal readmission will be small. But, if they fight, and an order for deportation is issued, they’ll never be allowed legal re-entry.
Add to that, they get out of the detention centers more quickly. Call their friends, tell the friends to pack up their s(tuff), and call back later when they establish an address so their s(tuff) can be shipped to them. Easy peasy!
If they leave voluntarily, rather than being dumped someplace, they can return to their home barrios under some sense of control, someplace with which they might have some familiarity, be better able to use the next three years to establish a solid life there, and feel less need to try to re-enter the United States. Let’s help them Make Mexico Great Again!