The government is paying undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Here's how the process works.
The Trump administration said a large number of undocumented immigrants are choosing to voluntarily leave the country before ICE steps in.
The federal government is now paying $2,600 to undocumented immigrants to self-deport if they use the Customs and Border Protection Home App. That's up from $1,000 when the initiative started a year ago. On top of that stipend is a free flight to their home country.
The big bump was announced in celebration of President Trump's first year in office, which apparently included a huge number of undocumented immigrants voluntarily leaving.
If you ask the federal government, 2.2 million people have self-deported since January 2025. That equates to roughly 14% of the total estimated number of undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
Several research groups have questioned the Department of Homeland Security's data. The Center for Migration Studies did a deep dive into how the DHS came up with 2.2 million.
The Center for Migration Studies estimates the true number of self-deportations to be around 200,000 in the past year, roughly one-tenth of what the federal government claims.
WCCO reached out to DHS to understand how its data is sourced, but has yet to hear back.
The Brookings Institution released a report last month regarding DHS's deportation numbers, stating the federal agency's data "should not be considered a serious source for an estimate of net migration."
With the new $2,600 stipend, DHS said the cost of a single self-deportation is $5,100. That's significantly less than the cost to arrest, detain and deport an undocumented immigrant, which DHS said costs more than $18,000.
"There's other ways to self-deport without using that app. There's also ways to request something called voluntary departure," said Kelly Clark, an immigration attorney who has helped clients voluntarily leave the country.
Under the previous presidential administration, Clark said undocumented people who wanted to self-deport would simply leave, especially if they didn't have any active court cases related to their immigration status.
The CPB Home app, however, is the only way to get money and a free flight when self-deporting. Those with criminal records are not eligible to register.
"There are some certain circumstances where I would probably have to advise that by putting their information in that system, they are notifying the government of where they are and who they are. And if they do have some kind of negative immigration history or depending on their criminal record, they could make themselves more of a target by registering," Clark said.
While she couldn't speak to the DHS claim of 2.2 million self-deportation cases, Clark said the number of clients contemplating self-deportation is rising. That includes people with legal work permits or pending asylum cases. She said they'd rather leave on their own accord than risk an ICE arrest.
"Some people who feel like they're stuck in their homes and they're not able to work, they just don't know how they're going to survive if they stay here," she said. "That is a deep fear with our client community, their friends and family, is that even though they might have some kind of case pending or work permit, they're really not protected."