WASHINGTON
\nThe Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily \u201cself deport\u201d from the US, 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.
\nPresident Donald Trump, a Republican, took office in January pledging to deport millions of people but so far has trailed deportations under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. Biden\u2019s administration faced high levels of illegal immigration and quickly returned many caught crossing the border.
\nThe 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 Biden.
\nTrump\u2019s 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.
\n\u201cIf you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,\u201d Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
\nIn March, the administration launched a rebranded app called CBP Home to facilitate self-deportation. The app, previously called CBP One, was used by the Biden administration to allow migrants to enter the US legally.
\nTrump previewed the stipend plan in April, saying the US would consider allowing migrants to return.
\n\u201cIf they\u2019re good, if we want them back in, we\u2019re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can,\u201d he said.
\nIn the announcement on Monday, DHS said people who choose to leave \u201cmay help preserve\u201d the ability to return legally, but did not cite any specific pathway or programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily \u201cself deport\u201d from the US, 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":476665,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-476638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n