With this new formal Trump Administration initiative towards undocumented immigrants, nothing could be further from the truth. They’re providing $1,000 stipends and travel assistance to facilitate their voluntary departure from the United States. Currently, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) runs a program to facilitate their return to their country. This new initiative ensures they can continue to do so without the threat of future arrest hanging over their heads.
When launching the program on Monday, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said the key to its success. She stated that it provides “the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers.” This initiative aims not only to facilitate the departure of undocumented immigrants but to potentially “keep the door open for legal immigration into the U.S. at a later date.”
The program, which the administration has coyly dubbed “self-deportation,” exempts participants from having to pay for their own flights. Upon using a special app to verify they’ve returned to their home country, participants will be paid the $1,000 stipend. Thus far, one person has used this program, leaving Chicago and going back to Honduras.
It is clear that this administration wants to make the environment more conducive to law enforcement and community members coexisting peacefully. To do this, they are enticing undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Kristi Noem further elaborated on the initiative’s cost-effectiveness, stating, “If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest.”
The DHS shares the goal of making its financial burden lighter on U.S. taxpayers while providing a more efficient and effective immigration system. The administration is adamant that this program will offer the kind of realistic solutions. The program has provided millions of undocumented immigrants the opportunity to emerge from the shadows and live without constant fear of deportation.