The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the United States announced on Wednesday (January 21) that it will provide a $2,600 subsidy to encourage illegal immigrants to leave immediately through its subsidiary, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) official app.
The announcement stated, “Starting today, every illegal immigrant who registers for self-deportation through the CBP Home app will not only receive a free ticket back to their home country but also a $2,600 subsidy.”
Moreover, users of the CBP Home app who have incurred any civil fines or penalties for not departing as required in the past are still eligible for exemptions.
According to the announcement, self-deportation through the CBP Home app is fast, free, and simple. Users just need to download the app, fill in their personal information, and “DHS will take care of the rest, including arranging and paying for the return expenses.”
Currently, there are nearly 100,000 users of the CBP Home app.
Secretary Kristi Noem mentioned in the announcement, “To celebrate the one-year anniversary of this administration, American taxpayers have generously increased efforts to encourage voluntary departure of illegal immigrants.”
The announcement made the following calculation: the current cost of forcibly deporting one person is $18,245. Through self-deportation via the CBP Home app, each person can receive a $2,600 subsidy, reducing the cost to $5,100. American taxpayers can save over $13,000 for each illegal immigrant voluntarily deported.
The action is part of President Trump’s initiative “Make America Safe,” and since January 2025, over 2.2 million illegal immigrants have chosen to self-deport.
This initiative is a continuation of CBP’s earlier “Home for the Holidays” campaign, but it is not expected to last long.
In President Trump’s first year in office, over 675,000 people have been deported.
The announcement emphasized, “Those who remain illegally in the United States should realize that being found, arrested, and deported is only a matter of time.” It reiterated, “Illegal immigrants should take this opportunity to voluntarily depart, otherwise we will find them, arrest them, and they will never be able to return.”