28% of ICE Detainees Choose Self-Deportation in Record 2025 Wave

A CBS News analysis based on decades of court records reveals a disturbing trend: 28% of migrants detained by ICE in 2025 chose to self-deport, a historic record that directly affects thousands of Cubans in federal custody.

Unprecedented Numbers

The rate of voluntary departures rose steadily throughout 2025, reaching 38% in December — nearly double the previous record of 21% set in 2018. More than a quarter of detained foreign nationals gave up their cases before a judge and chose to leave the United States without continuing their legal fight.

The increase coincides with the intensification of the Trump administration’s immigration policies and the exponential growth of the detention population. By mid-January 2026, 73,000 people remained in ICE custody, including thousands of Cubans.

Why Cubans Are Choosing to Leave

For many Cuban migrants, the decision to self-deport reflects a painful but pragmatic calculation:

• Bonds increasingly denied: Only 30% of bond decisions were favorable in 2025, down from 59% in 2024
• Few legal options: After the cancellation of the CHNV program and asylum policy tightening, legal pathways have shrunk dramatically
• Detention conditions: Reports of human rights violations in ICE facilities have multiplied, including a Cuban detainee’s death ruled a homicide
• Avoiding harsher penalties: Voluntary departure doesn’t carry the same immigration penalties as a formal deportation order

The Incentive Program

The U.S. government has implemented a program offering up to $3,000 and a free flight to undocumented migrants who agree to self-deport. The measure aims to reduce the operational costs of forced deportations, which by official estimates cost significantly more per person.

An Increasingly Hostile Context

The wave of self-deportations comes at a critical moment for Cuban migration. In recent weeks, the U.S. has deported 170 Cubans on the first flight of 2026, Nicaragua has shut down its migration route eliminating a key corridor, and Cuba’s economic crisis continues to deepen.

Human rights organizations have sharply criticized these policies, arguing that many departures stem from fear and desperation rather than truly voluntary decisions. Activists are demanding investigations into immigration authority practices and guarantees of dignified treatment for immigrants in federal custody.

What Lies Ahead

With migration routes closing, detention policies hardening, and the oil blockade worsening the crisis on the island, the dilemma for thousands of detained Cubans intensifies: remain in an increasingly hostile legal limbo or return to a country mired in its worst crisis in decades.

Sources: CBS News/EFE, CiberCuba