Ramon Rodriguez Vasquez was a farmhand for 16 years in southeastern Washington state, where he and his wife of 40 years raised four children and 10 grandchildren. The 62-year-old was part of a close-knit community and had never committed a crime.
On February 5, immigration officers came to his home looking for another person and detained him. It was rejected document, Despite messages of support from friends, family, employer and doctor who said the family needed him.
He was sent to a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center (Tacoma, Washington).His health deteriorated rapidly in part because he was not always provided with prescription medications for several medical conditions, including high blood pressure. Then there was the emotional impact of not being able to care for his family or his sick granddaughter. He was overwhelmed by it all, and finally gave up.
During his appearance before an immigration judge, he requested to leave without an official deportation mark on his record. The judge granted his request and he returned to Mexico alone.
His case is an example of the impact of the Trump administration’s aggressive efforts to deport millions of immigrants on an accelerated schedule, setting aside years of legal procedures and procedures in favor of quick results.
Similar dramas are playing out in immigration courts across the country, and have accelerated since early July, when ICE began opposing bail for anyone detained regardless of their circumstances.
“He was the head of the house, everything, and he took care of everything,” said Gloria Guizar, 58, Rodriguez’s wife. “Being separated from family has been very difficult. Even though our children are grown, and we have grandchildren, everyone misses him.”
It was unthinkable to leave the country before he was detained in a prison cell. The deportation process destroyed him.
“Self-deport or we’ll deport you.”
It is impossible to know how many people have left the United States voluntarily since President Donald Trump took office in January, because many are leaving without informing authorities. But Trump and his allies are counting on “self-deportation,” the idea that life can become unbearable enough for people to leave voluntarily.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, which oversees immigration courts, said judges granted “voluntary departure” in 15,241 cases during a 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, allowing them to leave without a formal deportation mark on their records or barring them from returning. This compares to 8,663 voluntary departures in the previous fiscal year.
ICE said it carried out 319,980 deportations from October 1, 2024, to September 20. Customs and Border Protection declined to reveal her number and directed the question to the authorities. Department of Homeland Security.
Secretary Kristi Noem said in August 1.6 million people They have left the country voluntarily or forcibly since Trump took office. The ministry cited a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, a group that advocates for immigration restrictions.
Michelle Mittelstadt, a spokeswoman for the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, said 1.6 million is an exaggerated number and a misuse of Census Bureau data.
The department is offering $1,000 to people who leave voluntarily using the CBP Home app. For those who don’t, there is the looming threat of being sent to prison third country like Iswatin, Rwanda, South Sudan or uganda,.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said the voluntary departure shows the administration’s strategy is working and keeping the country safe.
“Strengthening immigration enforcement that targets the worst of the worst is removing more and more criminal illegal aliens from our streets every day, and sends a clear message to everyone 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 are treating her like a criminal.”
A Colombian woman dropped her asylum claim in June in Seattle immigration court, even though she was not in detention.
“Your lawyer says you no longer wish to proceed with your asylum application,” the judge said. “Did anyone offer you money to do this?” he asked. She replied: “No, sir.” Her request was approved.
Her friend, US citizen Arlene Adrono, said of two years that she plans to leave the country as well.
“They’re treating her like a criminal. She’s not a criminal,” Adorno said. “I don’t want to live in a country that does this to people.”
In immigration court inside the Tacoma Detention Center, where posters encourage migrants to leave voluntarily or be forcibly deported, a Venezuelan man told Judge Teresa Scala in August that he wanted to leave. The judge approved the 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. The man replied: “I want to leave the country.”
“The court finds that you have waived all relief,” Scala said. “You must comply with the government’s efforts to remove you.”
“His absence was deeply felt.”
Ramon Rodriguez crossed the US border in 2009. His eight siblings, who are US citizens, lived in California, but he settled in Washington state. Grandview, population 11,000, is an agricultural town that grows apples, cherries, wine grapes, asparagus and other fruits and vegetables.
Rodriguez began working for AG Management in 2014. His tax records show he earned $13,406 the first year and by 2024, he earned $46,599 and paid $4,447 in taxes.
“During his time with us, he was an essential part of our team, demonstrating dedication, reliability and a strong work ethic,” his boss wrote in a letter urging the judge to release him from custody. “His skills in harvesting, planting, irrigating and operating equipment contributed greatly to our operations, and his absence was deeply felt.”
His granddaughter suffers from a heart problem, has undergone two surgeries and needs a third. Her mother doesn’t drive, so Rodriguez drove the girl to Spokane for care. The boy’s pediatrician wrote a letter to the immigration judge encouraging his release, saying that without his help, the girl may not get the medical care she needs.
The judge rejected his bail application in March. Rodriguez appealed and became the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit that sought to allow detained immigrants to request and obtain bonds.
On September 30 a A federal judge ruled to deny bond Immigrant hearings are illegal. But Rodriguez will not benefit from the ruling. He is gone now and unlikely to return.
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Associated Press reporter Cedar Attanasio contributed to this story.
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