U.S. offers migrants free airline tickets and $1,000 stipend if they self-deport

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U.S. offers migrants free airline tickets and $1,000 stipend if they self-deport

The Trump administration announced Monday it will offer immigrants in the U.S. illegally free airline tickets and a $1,000 incentive if they sign up for self-deportation and return to their home countries voluntarily. 

The Department of Homeland Security said it has helped some migrants obtain flight tickets, so they can return to their native countries in the next two weeks. A migrant has already returned to Honduras using the self-deportation program to book a flight out of Chicago, the department added.

Those interested in participating in the self-deportation initiative are being instructed to use a government smartphone app now known as CBP Home — which the Biden administration previously used to allow certain migrants to enter the U.S. legally — to tell officials they plan to leave the country.

Eligible immigrants will receive both travel assistance and the $1,000 stipend, which DHS officials said will be paid after the U.S. government confirms they individuals have left the country.

The Trump administration said those who sign up for self-deportation using the CBP Home app will be deprioritized for arrest and detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, “as long as they demonstrate they are making meaningful strides in completing that departure.”

The incentives offered on Monday are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to push unauthorized immigrants — with both sticks and carrots — to leave the U.S. 

The Trump administration has threatened certain unauthorized immigrants with prosecution, jail time and fines if they fail to register with the federal government. It has also dramatically broadened whom ICE deportation officers can target for arrest, reversing Biden-era rules that largely limited immigration arrests to serious criminals, national security threats and recent arrivals.

In its announcement Monday, the Trump administration portrayed self-deportation as a “dignified way” to leave the U.S., given that the alternative could be a forced deportation after being detained by ICE agents. 

But the self-deportation push also helps the government conserve resources and money. As currently staffed and resourced, ICE does not have the personnel, detention space and assets to find, arrest, detain and deport the millions of immigrants estimated to be in the country without authorization.

DHS officials argued on Monday that the travel assistance and stipend would also save the U.S. government money, saying that arresting, detaining and deporting a migrant costs $17,121, on average.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the Trump administration has tracked “thousands” of self-deportations so far. 

The Trump administration has repeatedly said those who participate in the self-deportation campaign may be able to come back to the U.S. legally in the future. But seeking permission to enter the U.S. legally is often a lengthy, complicated and expensive process, and poor and destitute individuals without any family or employers in the U.S. generally don’t qualify for a visa. Additionally, those who leave the U.S. after being in the country illegally for over a year could face a 10-year ban on reentry.

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Camilo Montoya-Galvez

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Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the immigration reporter at CBS News. Based in Washington, he covers immigration policy and politics.

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