WASHINGTON (AP) – In a bold move to advance its mass deportation agenda, the Trump administration announced on Monday that it will offer $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries. This initiative, spearheaded by the Department of Homeland Security, is aimed at encouraging self-deportation as an alternative to arrest and detention.
According to a news release from the Department, the administration will provide travel assistance in addition to the cash incentive. Immigrants who utilize an app called CBP Home to notify the government of their intention to return will be “deprioritized” for detention and removal processes. Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized the safety and cost-effectiveness of self-deportation, urging illegal aliens to take advantage of this opportunity.
The department has reportedly already paid for a plane ticket for one migrant returning to Honduras from Chicago, with more tickets scheduled for upcoming weeks. This initiative represents a significant commitment from the Trump administration, which has made immigration enforcement and mass deportation a central theme of its political agenda.
While the administration is seeking a substantial increase in funding from Congress for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department, it is also promoting voluntary departures as a way to alleviate the resource strain of deportation efforts. Complimenting this strategy, it has released television advertisements and social media campaigns that threaten legal action against undocumented migrants.
President Trump suggested during a press conference that self-deportation could allow immigrants to maintain the possibility of returning to the U.S. legally in the future, noting that those who depart voluntarily might have a chance if they “love our country.” However, experts caution that this notion oversimplifies the complexities of immigration status and legal proceedings.
Aaron Reichlen-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, expressed concerns regarding the ramifications for migrants who opt to leave without addressing their immigration cases in court. He warned that failing to appear in court could lead to automatic deportation orders and potentially abandoning asylum claims. The lack of coordination between Homeland Security and immigration courts complicates the situation further.
Reichlen-Melnick also questioned the funding and authorization for the payment initiative, speculating that the administration’s inability to detain and remove individuals as promised might have driven them to incentivize voluntary departures.
Transforming the previously used app CBP One, which allowed migrants to schedule entry appointments under the Biden administration, into a tool for assisting self-deportation is a notable change. The Trump administration claims that “thousands” of migrants have utilized CBP Home for this purpose.
Mark Krikorian from the Center for Immigration Studies supports the initiative by noting the impracticality of deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. He believes that the combination of enforcement and incentives for voluntary return is a pragmatic approach, although he raised concerns about the logistics of verifying that individuals genuinely return home.
Similar strategies have been implemented in other countries, where governments have incentivized voluntary departures rather than expending resources on enforcement and detainment. The Department of Homeland Security has noted that it costs an average of $17,121 to arrest, detain, and remove someone from the U.S. Voluntary returns bypass the need for complicated government negotiations to facilitate repatriation, especially with countries resistant to accepting their citizens.
A study by the Migration Policy Institute highlighted the existence of around 128 global programs aimed at incentivizing voluntary returns. While some programs have seen success, the overall effectiveness in ensuring that migrants do not return is still debated, raising questions about the long-term viability of such incentives.
