The Trump administration has introduced a new initiative offering illegal aliens $1,000 and free airfare to voluntarily leave the United States.
The program, announced on Monday, will use the CBP Home app, formerly known as CBP One, to facilitate departures and provide financial support.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem emphasized that the “self-deport” process is a safer and more cost-effective alternative to forced removal. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claims that self-deportation reduces federal deportation costs by up to 70%.
The current cost of the deportation process is $17,121, with a potential 70% reduction, meaning self-deportations would cost the government roughly $5,136.
“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,” said Noem, per a DHS news release.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in late March that the “incentive is clear” for self-deportation, explaining that this process could allow migrants the “opportunity to return the legal, right way in the future and live the American dream.”
“If they don’t self-deport, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will not return,” she said.
“Self-deportation is also the safest option for illegal aliens while preserving our law enforcement resources. Not only is it safer, but it also saves U.S. taxpayer dollars and valuable CBP and ICE resources to focus on dangerous criminal aliens.
President Donald Trump has also spoken on this topic and said there could be a path for migrants to come back to the United States in the future, though it would require the process to be conducted lawfully.
“We’re going to work with them so that maybe someday, with a little work, they can come back in if they’re good people, if they’re the kind of people that we want in our [country],” said the President.
The DHS stated in the news release that the process of self-deportation has already begun, with one illegal alien already taking the offer and receiving a plane ticket from Chicago to Honduras.
There are also more flights scheduled to take place in the coming days and next week.