• The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend to undocumented immigrants who self-deport.
• Participants will receive travel assistance if they use the CBP Home app to confirm their departure.
• The program is part of Trump's broader mass deportation agenda, positioning self-deportation as cost-effective.
• Homeland Security claims this strategy may help lessen the financial burden of traditional deportations.
• Critics question the effectiveness and morality of incentivizing self-deportation.

The Trump administration has announced it will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel help to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily "self deport" from the United States. This initiative is promoted as a way to mitigate costs associated with traditional deportation, which averages around $17,000 per individual, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated, "If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest," according to channelnewsasia.

Migrants who choose this option must utilize the CBP Home app to inform authorities of their plans, which would also result in them being "deprioritized" for detention by immigration enforcement. A recent report noted that a migrant had already used the app to return from Chicago to Honduras, as confirmed by huffpost and latimes.

This approach reflects ongoing themes in Trump's immigration policy, where voluntary departure is presented as a "dignified" alternative to arrest. However, critics suggest that such incentives amount to coercion and question the long-term viability for those opting to return home, as stated by a representative from the American Immigration Council, who emphasized the complexities of leaving without contesting legal status in court, according to sfgate and africanews.