Feeling hopeless in custody, many drop claims to remain in the US, leave
voluntarily
[October 13, 2025]
By MARTHA BELLISLE
SEATTLE (AP) — Ramón Rodriguez Vazquez was a farmworker for 16 years in
southeast Washington state, where he and his wife of 40 years raised
four children and 10 grandchildren. The 62-year-old was a part of a
tight-knit community and never committed a crime.
On Feb. 5, immigration officers who came to his house looking for
someone else took him into custody. He was denied bond, despite letters
of support from friends, family, his employer and a physician who said
the family needed him.
He was sent to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention
center in Tacoma, Washington, where his health rapidly declined in part
because he was not always provided with his prescription medication for
several medical conditions, including high blood pressure. Then there
was the emotional toll of being unable to care for his family or sick
granddaughter. Overwhelmed by it all, he finally gave up.
At an appearance with an immigration judge, he asked to leave without a
formal deportation mark on his record. The judge granted his request and
he moved back to Mexico, alone.
His case is an exemplar of the impact of the Trump administration's
aggressive efforts to deport millions of migrants on an accelerated
timetable, casting aside years of procedure and legal process in favor
of expedient results.
Similar dramas are playing out at immigration courts across the country,
accelerating since early July, when ICE began opposing bond for anyone
detained regardless of their circumstances.
“He was the head of the house, everything — the one who took care of
everything,” said Gloria Guizar, 58, Rodriguez's wife. “Being separated
from the family has been so hard. Even though our kids are grown, and
we’ve got grandkids, everybody misses him.”
Leaving the country was unthinkable before he was held in a jail cell.
The deportation process broke him.
‘Self deport or we will deport you'
It is impossible to know how many people left the U.S. voluntarily since
President Donald Trump took office in January because many leave without
telling authorities. But Trump and his allies are counting on
“self-deportation,” the idea that life can be made unbearable enough to
make people leave voluntarily.
The Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review, which
oversees immigration courts, said judges granted “voluntary departure”
in 15,241 cases in the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, allowing
them to leave without a formal deportation mark on their record or bar
to re-entry. That compares with 8,663 voluntary departures for the
previous fiscal year.
ICE said it carried out 319,980 deportations from Oct. 1, 2024 to Sept.
20. Customs and Border Protection declined to disclose its number and
directed the question to the Department of Homeland Security.
Secretary Kristi Noem said in August that 1.6 million people have left
the country voluntarily or involuntarily since Trump took office. The
department cited a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group
that advocates for immigration restrictions.
Michelle Mittelstadt, spokesperson for the Migration Policy Institute, a
nonpartisan think tank, said 1.6 million is an over-inflated number that
misuses the Census Bureau data.
The administration is offering $1,000 to people who leave voluntarily
using the CBP Home app. For those who don't, there is a looming threat
of being sent to a third country like Eswatini, Rwanda, South Sudan or
Uganda,.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin
said the voluntary departures show that the administration’s strategy is
working, and is keeping the country safe.
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The entrance to the Northwest U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement Processing Center is seen, Aug. 13, 2025, in Tacoma,
Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
“Ramped-up immigration enforcement targeting the worst of the worst
is removing more and more criminal illegal aliens off our streets
every day and is sending a clear message to anyone else in this
country illegally: Self-deport or we will arrest and deport you,”
she said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
“They treat her like a criminal”
A Colombian woman dropped her asylum claim at a June appearance in a
Seattle immigration court, even though she was not in custody.
“Your lawyer says you no longer wish to proceed with your asylum
application,” the judge said. “Has anyone offered you money to do
this?” he asked. “No, sir,” she replied. Her request was granted.
Her U.S. citizen girlfriend of two years, Arleene Adrono, said she
planned to leave the country as well.
“They treat her like a criminal. She’s not a criminal,” Adrono said.
"I don’t want to live in a country that does this to people.”
At an immigration court inside the Tacoma detention center, where
posters encourage migrants to leave voluntarily or be forcibly
deported, a Venezuelan man told Judge Theresa Scala in August that
he wanted to leave. The judge granted voluntary departure.
The judge asked another man if he wanted more time to find a lawyer
and if he was afraid to return to Mexico. “I want to leave the
country,” the man responded.
“The court finds you’ve given up all forms of relief,” Scala said.
“You must comply with the government efforts to remove you.”
“His absence has been deeply felt”
Ramón Rodriguez crossed the U.S. border in 2009. His eight siblings
who are U.S. citizens lived in California, but he settled Washington
state. Grandview, population 11,000, is an agricultural town that
grows apples, cherries, wine grapes, asparagus and other fruit and
vegetables.
Rodriguez began working for AG Management in 2014. His tax records
show he made $13,406 that first year and by 2024, earned $46,599 and
paid $4,447 in taxes.
“During his time with us, he has been an essential part of our team,
demonstrating dedication, reliability, and a strong work ethic," his
boss wrote in a letter urging a judge to release him from custody.
"His skills in harvesting, planting, irrigation, and equipment
operation have contributed significantly to our operations, and his
absence has been deeply felt.”
His granddaughter suffers from a heart problem, has undergone two
surgeries and needs a third. Her mother doesn't drive so Rodriguez
transported the girl to Spokane for care. The child's pediatrician
wrote a letter to the immigration judge encouraging his release,
saying without his help, the girl might not get the medical care she
needs.
The judge denied his bond request in March. Rodriguez appealed and
became the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that sought to allow
detained immigrants to request and receive bond.
On September 30, a federal judge ruled that denying bond hearings
for migrants is unlawful. But Rodriguez won't benefit from the
ruling. He's gone now and is unlikely to come back.
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Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed to this story.
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