The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) headquarters in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, May 10, 2023. Mayorkas provided an update on planning and operations ahead of the lifting of the Title 42 public health order. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that it has begun paying $1,000 stipends and providing travel assistance to undocumented immigrants who volunteer to depart the United States for their countries of origin.
“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement, using the Trump administration’s term for returning to your home country if you do not have explicit authorization to live in the United States.
“This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers,” said Noem.
DHS said it currently costs, on average, $17,121 to arrest, detain and remove an undocumented immigrant.
The program requires immigrants to use the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s “Home” app, which had previously served as a portal to access the U.S. asylum system under the Biden administration.
A fact sheet says users will receive a $1,000 stipend only after their arrival in their country of origin is confirmed through the app.
Crucially, DHS also said that immigrants who sign up for the departure program will also be “deprioritized for detention and removal ahead of their departure as long as they demonstrate they are making meaningful strides in completing that departure.”
It may also help to “keep the door open for legal immigration into the U.S. at a later date,” according to the announcement.
The agency said the new program has already been employed by one person who left Chicago to return to Honduras.
