US offers $3,000 to leave voluntarily! Trump admin triples self-deport stipend for migrants
The stipend will be offered to people in the U.S. illegally who register to leave the country by the end of the year, DHS said
- Dec 23, 2025,
- Updated Dec 23, 2025 11:49 AM IST
The Trump administration has sharply increased the financial incentive for migrants to leave the United States voluntarily, tripling the payout under its self-deportation programme to $3,000, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, as it intensifies enforcement against illegal immigration.
The stipend will be offered to people in the U.S. illegally who register to leave the country by the end of the year, DHS said. The package also includes a free flight back to their home countries.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem framed the move as a final opportunity for migrants to leave on their own terms.
"Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return," she said in a statement.
The higher payout follows the administration’s March rollout of a rebranded mobile application, CBP Home, designed to streamline voluntary departures. The app was previously known as CBP One and had been used under the Biden administration to facilitate the legal entry of migrants into the U.S.
The DHS has stated that voluntary exits are significantly cheaper than enforcement-led removals. In May, the department estimated that the average cost to arrest, detain and deport a person without legal status was around $17,000.
President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January after campaigning on record deportations, has escalated immigration enforcement despite political and legal backlash. While Trump has pledged to deport 1 million immigrants annually, the administration has removed about 622,000 people so far this year.
U.S. officials say the push will intensify further in 2026. The administration is preparing a more aggressive phase of enforcement, backed by billions of dollars in new funding. This includes plans to hire thousands of additional immigration agents, expand detention capacity, and collaborate with private companies to locate individuals living in the country without legal status.
(With inputs from Reuters)
The Trump administration has sharply increased the financial incentive for migrants to leave the United States voluntarily, tripling the payout under its self-deportation programme to $3,000, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday, as it intensifies enforcement against illegal immigration.
The stipend will be offered to people in the U.S. illegally who register to leave the country by the end of the year, DHS said. The package also includes a free flight back to their home countries.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem framed the move as a final opportunity for migrants to leave on their own terms.
"Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return," she said in a statement.
The higher payout follows the administration’s March rollout of a rebranded mobile application, CBP Home, designed to streamline voluntary departures. The app was previously known as CBP One and had been used under the Biden administration to facilitate the legal entry of migrants into the U.S.
The DHS has stated that voluntary exits are significantly cheaper than enforcement-led removals. In May, the department estimated that the average cost to arrest, detain and deport a person without legal status was around $17,000.
President Donald Trump, who returned to office in January after campaigning on record deportations, has escalated immigration enforcement despite political and legal backlash. While Trump has pledged to deport 1 million immigrants annually, the administration has removed about 622,000 people so far this year.
U.S. officials say the push will intensify further in 2026. The administration is preparing a more aggressive phase of enforcement, backed by billions of dollars in new funding. This includes plans to hire thousands of additional immigration agents, expand detention capacity, and collaborate with private companies to locate individuals living in the country without legal status.
(With inputs from Reuters)