Trump administration offers $1,000 to immigrants who return home voluntarily

The Trump administration is offering $1,000 and a free flight home to undocumented immigrants who go back their own countries voluntarily, the Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.

The immigrants who use the CBP Home App — the same mobile platform previously used under the Biden administration to facilitate lawful entry appointments at the U.S.-Mexico border — to notify U.S. immigration authorities of their departure will receive the money once their arrival in their country of origin is confirmed.

“Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the U.S. and will allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement”,” a Homeland Security press release said. “Even with the cost of the stipend, it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70%. Currently the average cost to arrest, detain and remove an illegal alien is $17,121.”

DHS said the app has already been used this week by an immigrant from Honduras who returned voluntarily to his home country from Chicago. The agency also noted additional departures are scheduled in the coming weeks.

A senior Homeland Security official confirmed to the Miami Herald that the agency’s travel assistance includes a complimentary one-way plane ticket out of the United States on top of the $1,000 payment. The payment will only be issued after the migrant’s departure has been confirmed, and is limited to undocumented immigrants without criminal records.

“If non-criminal illegal aliens use the app, the federal government can purchase the one-way departure ticket,” the official said.

“If an individual is present in the United States without legal authorization, voluntary return through the CBP Home App is now a safe, practical, and taxpayer-efficient option,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “This program supports our law enforcement personnel, ensures humane treatment, and offers eligible individuals a dignified process for returning home.”

Immigrants who submit an “Intent to Depart” notification through the app will be “deprioritized” for enforcement actions during the departure process, said DHS. “Participation may also positively influence future eligibility for legal entry into the U.S.”

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has pursued a strategy aimed at pressuring immigrants into what his administration refers to as “self-deportation.” Federal agencies have moved to revoke legal protections from hundreds of thousands of immigrants currently residing in the U.S. and have launched public messaging campaigns urging undocumented individuals to voluntarily return to their countries of origin and avoid detention and forced removal.

A key tool in the effort is the CBP One app, originally developed under the Biden administration to facilitate lawful border entry appointments. The app has now been repurposed to allow immigrants to notify authorities of their intent to voluntarily depart the U.S.

In the first 100 days of the Trump administration, millions of legal immigrants, particularly within Florida’s significant Hispanic communities, have face increased uncertainty regarding their status in the United States. The administration’s aggressive immigration policies, including the termination of humanitarian parole programs and the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans and Haitians, threaten to leave many immigrants without legal avenues to remain in the country. The actions have intensified fears of deportation and disrupted established legal processes.

Many of the Trump administration’s executive actions targeting immigrants are currently being challenged in federal courts. Among the most closely watched cases is the fate of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelans, which now awaits a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. Advocates warn that the outcome could fundamentally alter how TPS is applied to all communities that rely on the protection, which has been offered by presidents of both parties to people from countries in turmoil.

After a series of legal defeats, the Trump administration last week formally petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn a federal judge’s ruling that temporarily shields hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans in Florida and across the U.S. from deportation as their lawsuit against the government proceeds.

“President Trump has a clear message: If you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to come back and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream,” Noem said in a statement in March.

In South Florida, immigrants, attorneys and community leaders say the administration’s mass deportation push threatens to leave more than 500,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans facing the abrupt termination of the CHNV humanitarian parole program with a painful ultimatum: leave voluntarily or risk detention and forced removal. The termination of the program has also been challenged in federal court.

Many immigrants are choosing to remain in the U.S., despite narrowing legal pathways and growing fear of deportation. For them, the dangers and instability awaiting in their home countries outweigh the risks of staying in the U.S.