How does DHS define 'deportation' versus 'removal' versus 'voluntary return' in its reports?

1. What DHS and U.S. law mean by "removal" (the legal successor to "deportation")

Since the 1996 immigration overhaul the statutory term for government‑ordered expulsion is "removal," which subsumes most forms formerly called "deportation" and "exclusion" and is the label used in DHS operational data and legal proceedings ^{[4] [5]}; DHS tracks removals as formal outcomes — including expedited removal, administrative deportation, reinstatement of removal, and removal following immigration court orders — and treats them as actions that produce official removal orders and potential bars to reentry ^[1].

2. Deportation as a lay term and why precision matters

"Deportation" survives largely as a lay or media term but maps to removal in federal databases and legal practice; lawyers and DHS use "removal" to capture the range of procedural mechanisms that compel a noncitizen to leave, while "deportation" can obscure whether someone was subject to expedited removal, reinstatement, or an immigration‑court order — distinctions with material consequences like length of reentry bars or eligibility for relief ^{[4] [5]}.

3. How DHS defines "voluntary departure" and "voluntary return"

DHS defines voluntary departures broadly as the departure of an alien from the United States without an order of removal, and DHS operational categorizations separate voluntary returns/returns from removals in Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations data ^[1]; in practice this includes pre‑hearing or judge‑granted voluntary departures (which allow a person to leave at their own expense within a set timeframe) and administrative voluntary returns at ports of entry or in the field, sometimes called "self‑deportation" or voluntary return ^{[2] [3] [6]}.

4. Legal consequences and practical differences: bars, records, and penalties

Voluntary departure, if properly granted, avoids a formal removal order on the record and can preserve some future immigration options, but it is not consequence‑free: failure to depart by the deadline can convert the grant into a removal order and trigger fines and reentry bars; conversely, removals usually generate statutory bars (often years long) and are recorded in DHS/EOIR systems, with reinstatement possible for prior removal orders — all of which DHS and DOJ guidance document ^{[2] [7] [1]}.

5. Operational nuance: expedited actions, administrative returns, and app‑based programs

DHS operational categories distinguish expedited removal and administrative deportation from voluntary returns and administrative returns (for example, crew member detentions or withdrawals) and treats voluntary return outcomes differently in Key Homeland Security Metrics ^[1]; newer initiatives such as CBP's "Home" app frame "voluntary self‑departure" and offer incentives and travel support, language that reflects program goals to encourage departures outside formal removals — a messaging choice with potential policy and public‑relations intent ^[8].

6. Tensions and critiques: when "voluntary" is not really advantageous

Advocates and legal guides warn that voluntary departure may be little better than removal for some people — especially those who cannot secure travel documents or who face long diplomatic delays — because it does not erase unlawful presence consequences in all cases and may still block relief or reentry depending on the individual’s history ^{[9] [3]}; this critique highlights an implicit policy tradeoff: administrative efficiency and lower removal counts versus the substantive immigration consequences experienced by noncitizens.