The US government is offering migrants who are in the country illegally a sum of 1 000 US dollars and a paid trip to their home country if they decide to leave the US, on Tuesday, the 6th of April, reports the British broadcaster BBC.
“Self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the US to avoid arrest,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on Monday.
Those who take up the offer could one day be offered a legal route to return to the US, US President Donald Trump told reporters the same day.
Since returning to office in January, President Trump has launched an ambitious crackdown on illegal immigration, with some steps facing legal challenges.
THOSE WHO APPLY FOR “SELF-DEPORTATION” FUNDING WILL NOT BE PRIORITISED FOR DETENTION, ACCORDING TO A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS).
The DHS announced that the first “illegal alien” has already accepted the offer, by receiving a ticket on a flight from Chicago to Honduras.
Officials said the scheme uses the “CBP Home” app, which helps confirm when a migrant has returned to their home country.
They described the offer as a “dignified” way to go, adding that it will reduce DHS deportation costs. They noted that the average cost to arrest, detain and deport a migrant is currently more than 17 000 US dollars.
The plan has also been criticised. Adriano Espaillat, a Dominican-American congressman from the Democratic Party, wrote on X: “We don’t give people bribes to leave. We build a country where everyone belongs.”
The President and his allies have praised their progress on immigration, stressing that the number of illegal border crossings has fallen.
Border Patrol figures show that a record low of just over 7 000 immigrants were apprehended at the US-Mexico border in March.
But the government has not deported as many migrants as it had promised, and the courts have blocked Trump’s efforts to end citizenship rights for certain children.