Media reports say the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on December 22 that the Trump administration has tripled its stipend offer to migrants who choose to voluntarily "self-deport" from the United States to $3,000,.
The stipend would be given to people in the U.S. illegally who sign up to leave the country by the end of the year, DHS said. The offer would include a free flight back to their home countries, it said.
"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," DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
Reuters reports that the Trump administration in March launched a rebranded app called CBP Home to make it easier for people to self-deport. The app, previously called CBP One, was used by the Biden administration to allow migrants to enter the U.S. legally.
DHS said in May that the average cost to arrest, detain and deport someone without legal status was around $17,000.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in January promising record levels of deportations, has ramped up crackdown on immigration despite backlash.
While he has promised to remove 1 million immigrants each year, his administration has so far managed to deport some 622,000 immigrants this year, Reuters says, noting that the administration is preparing for a more aggressive push against immigration in 2026 with billions in new funding.
U.S. officials reportedly say they plan to hire thousands more immigration agents, open new detention centers, and partner with outside companies to track down people without legal status.
Live Now reports that Trump in July signed legislation that infused about $170 billion into border security and immigration enforcement spread out over five years.
ICE is reportedly set to get $76.5 billion, nearly 10 times its current annual budget. Some $45 billion will go toward increasing detention capacity. Nearly $30 billion is for hiring 10,000 more staff so the agency can meet its goal of 1 million annual deportations.
New hires include deportation officers responsible for tracking down, arresting and removing people who the administration determines no longer have the right to remain in the U.S.
