Why Trump is offering $1,000 to migrants to 'self-deport' from US

The Trump administration has introduced a new voluntary departure programme aimed at encouraging undocumented immigrants to leave the United States on their own, offering financial incentives to reduce the high cost and logistical burden of formal deportations.

The initiative, led by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), offers $1,000 in travel assistance to migrants who choose to self-deport using a revamped mobile app — a move that highlights the economic and political complexities behind immigration enforcement.

$1,000 and a ticket home

The US Department of Homeland Security announced it would pay $1,000 to undocumented immigrants who voluntarily return to their home countries and would also cover their travel expenses.

“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App.”

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This initiative repurposes the CBP One app, originally designed under the Biden administration for migrants to schedule border appointments, into a self-deportation tool now called CBP Home.

According to DHS, thousands of migrants have already used the app, with one migrant recently flown back to Honduras from Chicago, and more flights reportedly scheduled in the coming weeks.

Why the government prefers voluntary departures

Deporting an undocumented immigrant via the traditional legal and enforcement route can be a costly and time-consuming process. According to figures provided by DHS, the average cost to arrest, detain, and deport an individual is approximately $17,121.

This includes everything from investigative resources, detention costs legal proceedings, and removal logistics.

Here’s a breakdown of typical government expenses, as seen on NPR:

• Salary for HSI investigators: $32,918–76,649 per year

• Salary for CBP agents: $64,229–137,875 per year

• ICE detention: $152 per day per person

• ICE “Alternative to Detention” tracking: $4.20/day per person (average)

• ICE “bed rate” paid to facilities to hold a detainee for one day: $75/day per person (median)

• Medical care in detention: $34.05 per day

• ICE legal counsel per case: $850

• Salary for an immigration judge: $149,000–195,000 per year

• Salary for a USCIS agent: $22,360–162,672 per year

• White House request to Congress for border security: $175 billion

• Chartered ICE flight costs: $6,929–$26,795 per flight hour

• Military deportation flights (C-17 aircraft): $25,500–$28,562 per flight hour

With these figures in mind, the new $1,000 stipend appears to be a cost-saving measure.

Voluntary returns bypass the need for prolonged court proceedings and international repatriation negotiations, particularly with countries reluctant to take back deported nationals.

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What goes into a deportation

Trump began his second term with a pledge to ramp up interior immigration enforcement. Since taking office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported 32,000 arrests. These include individuals who entered illegally, overstayed visas or violated green card terms.

Despite the public perception that only criminal offences lead to deportation, immigration law does not require a crime to remove someone. For instance, visa overstays or status violations alone are sufficient grounds.

The administration has also moved to terminate programmes that offered temporary protections, including the Biden-era humanitarian parole programme and Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Venezuelans.

Once flagged, migrants may be arrested by ICE directly or transferred into federal custody through local law enforcement collaborations, such as the 287(g) programme and Criminal Alien Program. From there, many face weeks or months in detention before their court hearing.

Court backlogs are substantial: by the end of 2024, 1.5 million asylum cases were pending in immigration court, with 1 million more handled by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In 2024 alone, courts issued 666,177 initial decisions, with many resulting in final removal orders.

How undocumented Indians are faring

India ranks as one of the top countries of origin for undocumented immigrants in the US According to Pew Research, an estimated 725,000 undocumented Indians lived in the US in 2022 — the third-largest group after Mexicans and Salvadorans.

The Migration Policy Institute offers a more conservative figure of 375,000, still ranking India among the top five.

In 2025 so far, more than 600 Indians have already been deported, based on official statistics.

These figures highlights the administration’s broadened enforcement efforts, which now focus not just on border areas but the country’s interior, drawing in support from the FBI, DEA, and US Marshals.

Will pay-to-go programmes succeed?

Historically, voluntary return or “pay-to-go” schemes have seen mixed results. A 2011 study by the Migration Policy Institute and the European University Institute reviewed 128 global programmes, concluding that most failed to attract large numbers of participants.

Even when migrants accepted incentives to return home, many eventually tried to reenter host countries due to economic hardship or instability back home.

Still, for the Trump administration, the $1,000 incentive serves as a low-cost tool to reduce pressure on an overloaded immigration system while sidestepping the legal and diplomatic bottlenecks of formal deportation.

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With inputs from agencies