🚨🚨As a retired Deportation Officer who has managed hundreds of thousands of these cases, let me be blunt about Voluntary Departure: 120 days is not a mandatory grant, it's a loophole being abused.
— Scott Mechkowski (@ScottMechkowski) May 27, 2026
Immigration Judges have the discretion to grant shorter periods (30-60 days) and…
As a retired Deportation Officer who has managed hundreds of thousands of these cases, let me be blunt about Voluntary Departure: 120 days is not a mandatory grant, it's a loophole being abused.
Immigration Judges have the discretion to grant shorter periods (30-60 days) and are strictly limited to a 60-day maximum if the request comes at the conclusion of the hearing.
Granting the longest possible time simply incentivizes aliens to use VD as a stall tactic, allowing them to abscond before their final removal. We know nearly 90% of non-detained aliens abscond.
If we want to speed up removals and restore credibility to the courts, IJs must stop automatically granting the maximum and start enforcing the shorter, legally sound deadlines. It's time to end the delay.
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