Washington, May 6, 2025 – The trump administration will offer immigrants living in the United States illegally $1,000 to leave the country.
The Department of Homeland Security announced this Monday in the latest effort by the Trump administration to accelerate deportations.
Migrants who use the Customs and Border Protection Home App to notify the government of their departure will receive a $1,000 stipend after they’ve returned to their home country, in addition to financial assistance for travel back, DHS said.
Undocumented migrants who opt to self-deport will also be “deprioritized for detention and removal ahead of their departure as long as they demonstrate they are making meaningful strides” to leave the country, DHS said.
Self-deporting could also “help preserve the option for an illegal alien to re-enter the United States legally in the future,” DHS said.
DHS estimates the program will decrease the cost of a deportation by 70%, down from an average cost of $17,121.
Experts have disputed the number of deportation figures released by the administration.
DHS claimed last week it has deported 142,000 people so far this year, including migrants who have self-deported using the CBP One app.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, however, reported last week that it’s deported 66,000 people, raising questions about how the administration arrived at the 142,000 figure, especially since the number of people crossing the border illegally has declined significantly since Trump took office.
Days after taking office, the Trump administration shut down the CBP One app, which was created by the Biden administration to allow asylum-seekers to make appointments before reaching the border, as part of Trump’s effort to ban virtually all asylum seekers from entering the U.S.
DHS said it had already helped some undocumented migrants plan their way home and has paid for a plane ticket for at least one.
Trump has set a goal to deport at least 1 million people during his first year in office. (Forbes)
