The Blubber

In a continued push to advance its mass deportation efforts, the Trump administration announced Monday that it will offer $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily leave the U.S. and return to their country of origin.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it will also cover travel expenses for those who opt into the program. Migrants who notify the government of their intention to depart using a mobile app called CBP Home will be considered a lower priority for detention and deportation, the agency said.

“For individuals in the U.S. unlawfully, voluntary departure is the safest and most affordable way to avoid arrest,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “Through the CBP Home App, DHS is now offering financial assistance and stipends to support voluntary returns.”

The department noted that it had already arranged a flight for one migrant returning to Honduras from Chicago and that additional travel plans are underway for others in the coming days.

A Core Part of Trump’s Immigration Strategy
Immigration enforcement and large-scale deportations have been at the heart of President Donald Trump’s policy agenda. Now in the early months of his administration, Trump is making good on that campaign promise. But removing millions of people is a costly and logistically demanding task.

While the administration is seeking substantial new funding from Congress to bolster Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), it is also leaning on strategies to encourage voluntary departures—often referred to as “self-deportation.”

The initiative is being promoted alongside TV ads warning undocumented migrants of enforcement actions, as well as social media content showing arrests and deportations, including footage of migrants being transferred to a detention facility in El Salvador.

The Trump administration has frequently framed voluntary departure as a path for migrants to potentially reenter the U.S. legally in the future.

However, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, cautioned that the policy may carry risks for migrants, especially those currently in legal proceedings.

He noted that leaving the country while in removal proceedings could lead to automatic deportation orders and the abandonment of applications for relief, such as asylum. “This offer oversimplifies a very complicated legal process,” Reichlin-Melnick said.

A Complex Legal Landscape
He added that DHS has not clarified whether it is coordinating with immigration courts to ensure those who leave under the program aren’t penalized for skipping hearings. Without that coordination, he said, people could be jeopardizing their cases by departing.

“There’s no indication this is being synchronized with the immigration court system,” he said. “For many, leaving could close the door on future legal options.”

Reichlin-Melnick also questioned how DHS is funding the initiative and whether it has the legal authority to issue such payments. He suggested that the incentive may reflect the administration’s difficulty in meeting its deportation targets.

“They’re not hitting their numbers, so they’re trying to get people to leave on their own,” he said.

The CBP Home app, which the Trump administration is now using to facilitate voluntary returns, was originally launched under President Biden as CBP One. The app had previously allowed close to one million migrants to schedule appointments for lawful entry into the U.S. It has now been repurposed to encourage and coordinate departures.

According to DHS, “thousands” of migrants have already used the updated app to begin the process of self-deportation.