The Trump administration has announced a new initiative offering $1,000 and travel assistance to undocumented migrants who agree to voluntarily return to their home countries.
“We’re going to pay each one a certain amount of money, and we’re going to get them a beautiful flight back to where they came from.
“We’re going to work with them so that maybe someday, with a little work, they can come back in if they’re good people, if they’re the kind of people that we want in our (country).
It will give them a path to coming back into the country,” he said.
This program, revealed by the US Department of Homeland Security on May 5, 2025, encourages migrants to register their intent through a newly rebranded app called CBP Home.
The Department of Homeland Security claims that self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States, allowing individuals to avoid arrest and encounters with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Undocumented migrants who participate in the program will be provided financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country, with the $1,000 stipend paid after confirmation of their return through the app.
The Trump administration expects this program to reduce deportation costs by approximately 70%, from the current average cost of $17,121 to arrest, detain, and remove an undocumented migrant.
Some immigration experts have raised concerns about the program, warning that leaving the country without resolving legal proceedings could lead to deportation orders and impact future eligibility for legal re-entry.
President Trump has made immigration a central issue in his campaign, pledging to carry out mass deportations, although the actual number of deportations under his administration has been lower than expected.