Families in US immigration detention with pending trafficking-related claims report escalating pressure to abandon legal protections and accept deportation. Throughout this year, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has used threats of family separation, criminal prosecution, and prolonged detention to force compliance. As detention numbers rise and the administration pushes to meet aggressive deportation targets, trafficking survivors say they no longer feel safe asserting their rights.
Trafficking survivors face coercive pressure in detention
Kelly and Yerson Vargas entered the United States with their six-year-old daughter after fleeing forced labor and death threats from cartel members in Mexico. They filed visa applications as trafficking victims. Yet, ICE sent the family a deportation order and pressured them to board flights to Colombia.
Reuters reports,
They had resisted because they had submitted visa applications as victims of human trafficking, saying they faced forced labor and death threats from cartel members in Mexico as they transited to the U.S.
However, while detained in Texas, an officer warned them that resisting a deportation order could lead to federal charges and up to ten years in prison. At the same time, the warning included the risk that their daughter would be taken into government custody.
Ultimately, facing the threat of jail and separation, they abandoned their applications and accepted deportation.
Indefinite detention drives people to give up their rights
Trafficking survivors are not alone in facing this pressure. Increasingly, immigration detention in the US is surging. Most recently, ICE detained nearly 66,000 people—a 70% increase since January. ICE now holds many people who previously would have been released while their cases moved forward, giving them little chance of receiving bond. Even after a court blocked the agency’s attempt to deny bond to almost everyone in custody, many had already agreed to deportation to avoid long confinement.
Threats of prosecution, warnings about separation from children, and detention in remote facilities form a pattern that undermines legal protections for migrants at risk of exploitation. Additionally, people also report fear of being sent to “third countries” where they have no ties and may face detention again.
Some migrant trafficking survivors are suing ICE for alleged coercive treatment in detention. Those cases described threats, harmful conditions, and pressure to abandon protection claims. Families like the Vargases now describe experiences that echo many of those allegations.
Coerced “voluntary departures” rise across the system
Reportedly, court-approved voluntary departures have increased more than five-fold compared with the same months of the previous administration. As a result, long-time residents, including people married to American citizens, accepted voluntary departure after weeks in detention. Others abandoned their claims. Ultimately, they fear being removed to countries where imprisonment was likely.
Across these accounts, a consistent picture emerges: threats, degrading conditions, and the use of family separation as leverage. These tactics place trafficking survivors and other vulnerable migrants at heightened risk. Many feel forced to choose deportation even with strong claims to remain in safety.
Safe migration pathways and rights-based protections are essential to prevent exploitation. Migration policies must ensure safety, not punishment, for those seeking refuge from abuse. Add your name to the call urging governments to protect migrant survivors and uphold their right to justice.
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