United States: Trump administration offers illegal immigrants $1,000 to "self-deport"

Paying immigrants to leave the United States. This is just the latest step in Donald Trump’s mass deportations plan. 

The Trump administration announced on Monday that it will offer $1,000 to migrants who are in the US illegally, if they decide to leave the country. 

The American government will also pay for migrants’ travel assistance back to their home countries. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said this so-called self-deportation “is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest." 

Migrants will be paid after their return to their home country has been confirmed through an app called CBP Home. 

People who use this app will also be "deprioritized for detention and removal."

The Department of Homeland Security said a first person had already taken up the offer, receiving a ticket for a flight from Chicago to Honduras. 

Trump made immigration enforcement and mass deportation a centrepiece of his campaign and of his first 100 days in office, but the execution remains costly. The DHS said that it costs over $17,000 to arrest, detain and remove someone who is in the US illegally.  

The new self-deportation scheme has already received criticism over its effectiveness and legitimacy. 

"This ain’t policy — it’s a payoff", Texas Democratic congresswoman Jasmine Crockett wrote on X.

US President Donald Trump repeatedly said during his campaign that he planned to carry out "the largest deportation operation" in American history.

His administration has so far not deported as many people as he promised.