U.S. Customs and Border Protection is offering $3,000 to migrants who willingly leave the country by the end of the year, authorities announced Monday as the Trump administration looks to boost its deportation numbers.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said those who choose to “self-deport” through the CBP will receive a $3,000 stipend and a free flight home, and have any civil fines forgiven.
“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,” Noem said in announcing the “exit bonus.”
The agency offered a similar incentive for $1,000 in May. Some who took the offer reported that they had trouble getting the money or never got it at all.
At the time, the American Immigration Lawyers Association called the scheme a trap and cautioned those considering whether to accept the financial incentive to “understand it is deceptive and gives people the impression there are no consequences, such as being barred from returning in the future. No one should accept this without first obtaining good legal advice from an immigration attorney or other qualified representative.”
Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW, with a focus on how global events and foreign policy shape U.S. politics. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.