Donald Trump's administration will pay $1,000 to illegal immigrants who leave the US on their own.
The amount will be provided to anyone who selects the "self-deportation" option in the special CBP Home application, the Department of Homeland Security announced. The moment the application confirms that the migrant has returned to their country of origin, the money will be transferred. The US authorities will also cover the cost of transportation.
According to Minister Kristi Noem (pictured), this is "the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the US to avoid arrest".
A money-saving tool?
The CBP Home app was created under Joe Biden as CBP One. In early 2023, a special feature was added to it that allows migrants who want to arrive in the US to schedule appointments to submit the relevant documents to border authorities. Republicans sharply criticized this feature, and when Donald Trump came to power, he renamed and changed the application so that it was mainly used by those who want to leave the United States.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, the average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting an illegal immigrant is $17,121. Those who declare their intention to leave the country voluntarily through the application will not be detained, the authorities said in a statement.
Trump does not deport more than Biden, but manages to scare migrants
Donald Trump's administration promised to deport millions of illegal immigrants from the territory of the United States. However, in the first 100 days, he failed to achieve the set goals, and the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) estimates that if it continues at the same pace, his administration will deport about 500,000 people this year. In 2024, while Joe Biden was president, the United States carried out 685,000 deportations.
Many of Trump's announced policies have been attacked in court. On Monday, a federal appeals court rejected the president's administration's request to allow it to revoke the temporary status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans living in the United States.
At the same time, however, the aggressive rhetoric and announced measures clearly scare migrants. Border Patrol is registering a record low level of attempts to cross the border with Mexico, the IMP emphasizes.
According to the institute, immigrants in the United States who do not have valid documents for stay are about 13.7 million.