The Trump administration announced a new program that it says will facilitate deportations and save taxpayers money by encouraging people living in the country illegally to self-deport. The federal government says it will pay people who are living in the country illegally a $1,000 stipend if they self-deport and return to their home countries.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also confirmed to Fox News that the agency will pay for the commercial flights for those who self-deport.
Program access through CBP Home App
The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday, May 5, what it’s calling a “historic opportunity” to give migrants living in the U.S. illegally “both financial and travel assistance to facilitate travel back to their home country through the CBP Home app.”
People in the country illegally can use the CBP Home app to self-deport, and once they’re out of the country, the U.S. government says it will give them $1,000 after their return is confirmed through the app. The CBP One app was originally used by federal authorities to offer people seeking asylum, as well as those looking to immigrate to the U.S., a way to do so online. However, the Trump administration has repurposed it as a means to self-deport as part of a broader shift in immigration policy.
Since taking office, the Trump administration has faced backlash over controversial deportations. Over 200 Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador for alleged gang ties despite many lacking criminal records. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran mistakenly deported, was jailed without trial to a high-security El Salvadoran prison, raising serious due process concerns.
Statement from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem
“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home app,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
According to DHS, one person who self-deported from Chicago back to Honduras accepted the government’s offer and has already received the travel assistance stipend.
Estimated taxpayer savings
DHS says this new program is the safest for law enforcement and estimates it will be a 70% savings for U.S. taxpayers. On average, DHS says it costs, on average, $17,121 to arrest, detain and remove one person in the country illegally.
DHS also said that those who self-deport will have a chance to re-enter the country legally in the future.
In response, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, posted on X, “It is an incredibly cruel bit of deception for DHS to be telling people that if they leave they ‘will maintain the ability to return to the U.S. legally in the future.’ Many people who might see this as an option would be put in a WORSE OFF legal position. So this is a TRAP.”
Last week, the Trump administration announced it had deported nearly 140,000 migrants since President Trump took office in January.
