More than 12,000 asylum-seekers have abandoned their legal cases or voluntarily left the United States as Immigration and Customs Enforcement moves to deport migrants to countries other than their nations of origin, according to an analysis by CBS News.
The findings highlight the broader impact of the Trump administration's use of third-country deportation agreements, which allow the U.S. to remove individuals to nations they did not originally flee. The prospect of being sent to an unfamiliar country appears to have prompted a significant number of migrants to give up their asylum bids before immigration courts reach a decision.
How third-country deportations work
Under the policy, ICE can arrange transfers to countries that have signed agreements with the United States to accept deportees who are not their own nationals. El Salvador and other nations in the region have entered into such arrangements. Migrants facing removal to these destinations have limited legal recourse to challenge the designation in many cases.
Critics of the approach, including immigration attorneys and advocacy groups, argue that sending asylum-seekers to third countries without adequate screening exposes them to potential harm in places where they have no ties, no legal status, and no guarantee of protection.
A shift in case outcomes
The CBS News analysis found that the surge in voluntary departures and case abandonments represents a notable shift in how asylum cases are being resolved. Rather than proceeding through the immigration court system, a growing share of cases are effectively ending before any judicial determination is made on the merits of a protection claim.
Immigration courts across the country have faced longstanding backlogs, with hundreds of thousands of cases pending. The administration has framed its use of third-country agreements as a tool to reduce those backlogs and deter future unauthorized crossings.
Supporters of stricter immigration enforcement argue the policy is a legitimate use of executive authority and that it creates consequences that discourage asylum claims the administration characterizes as unfounded.
Legal challenges ongoing
The third-country deportation policy has faced legal scrutiny. Courts have issued rulings in various cases that either limited or temporarily blocked certain removals, though the administration has continued to pursue agreements with partner nations and push forward with transfers where legally permitted.
The full scope of the policy's effects on individuals who abandoned their cases - including where they went and whether they face ongoing danger - was not detailed in the CBS News report, which focused primarily on the volume of case withdrawals tied to the enforcement shift.
