Robert Cano / U.S. Customs and Border Protection
CV NEWS FEED // In a move aimed at easing the strain on federal immigration enforcement, the Trump administration unveiled a program May 5 that offers stipends to illegal immigrants who voluntarily leave the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the initiative provides illegal aliens with paid airfare and up to $1,000 in cash upon proving, through the CBP Home app, that they have returned to their country of origin, Newsweek reported.
The administration, facing mounting logistical and legal obstacles to mass deportation, has been quietly encouraging self-deportation since early March. The new financial incentive builds on those efforts by rewarding compliance.
Each arrest, detention, and removal costs taxpayers more than $17,000, according to DHS figures. Officials argue that the stipend, by comparison, could lead to significant savings if widely adopted.
The CBP Home app, a tool migrants can use to record their departure, has already been used by at least one immigrant who traveled from Chicago to Honduras and other ticket purchases have been confirmed.
“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 Secretary Kristi Noem said in a May 5 press release.
“This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers,” she later added.
Several nations, including Germany, Sweden, and the UK, have experimented with paying migrants to return home on their own, Newsweek reported. Though some efforts yielded results, many fell short of persuading large numbers to take part.
President Donald Trump said that migrants could be assisted in their return journey.
“We’re going to get them a beautiful flight back to where they came from,” he said May 5, Newsweek reported. “They will have a period of time, and if they make it, we’re going to work with them so that, maybe someday, with a little work they can come back in.”
