The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily “self deport” from the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.
The stipend and potential airfare for migrants who voluntarily depart would cost less than an actual deportation, the agency said. The average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting someone without legal status is currently about $17,000, according to DHS.
The Trump administration has deported 152,000 people since January 20, according to DHS, lower than the 195,000 deported from February-April last year under Joe Biden.
Trump’s administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.
“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.
In the announcement on Monday, DHS said people who choose to leave “may help preserve” the ability to return legally, but did not cite any specific pathway or program.
