A version of this story appeared in the daily Threat Status newsletter from The Washington Times. Click here to receive Threat Status delivered directly to your inbox each weekday.
The Department of Homeland Security said Monday that it will pay a $1,000 reward to illegal immigrants who self-deport from the U.S.
The “travel assistance” is the latest in a full-scale push for illegal immigrants to leave independently rather than wait for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to catch up with them and begin a full, formal deportation.
Homeland Security said the money is an incentive to the migrants and is a good deal for taxpayers, given that the average cost to detain and deport an illegal immigrant is more than $17,000.
“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
The money will be paid after migrants confirm they are in their home country.
The system relies on the CBP Home app, developed by the Trump administration to encourage self-deportation. It replaced the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used to bring in hundreds of thousands of unauthorized migrants.
SEE ALSO: DeSantis sets pace for GOP governors on immigration
Migrants looking to collect the $1,000 reward will register their upcoming departures through the app.
Rosemary Jenks, policy director at the Immigration Accountability Project, panned the idea.
“I think it’s a better idea to give Americans $1,000 each and just boot the illegals,” she said. “They’ve had enough free stuff paid for by us.”
Don Rosenberg, president of Advocates for Victims of Illegal Alien Crime, understood the reluctance but said ushering out illegal immigrants is worth the cost, particularly given the long-term savings.
“The idea is to get them out, and get them out as fast as you can and as cheap as you can,” he told The Washington Times.
Mr. Rosenberg said he would like to see a modification to allow the reward money to come from sanctuary cities’ budgets by docking their federal assistance and grant money.
The idea of self-deportation has been kicking around for years. It was a centerpiece of Mitt Romney’s 2012 Republican presidential campaign.
It never gained much traction until the Trump team, which is looking for ways to usher out millions of illegal immigrants who settled in the U.S. under President Biden and make a dent in the longer-term illegal immigrants.
Ms. Noem has warned illegal immigrants that deportation officers are on the lookout for them while assuring them of the ease and benefits of going on their own.
For example, those formally deported can be barred from returning through the legal system. Those who depart on their own can avoid that penalty.
Homeland Security said Monday that those who register with the CBP Home app as intending to leave would be deprioritized as targets for arrest and deportation as long as they take “meaningful strides” toward leaving.
The department said an illegal immigrant from Honduras who came to the U.S. during the Biden administration has already taken the program’s self-deportation option and booked a flight out of Chicago.
“Additional tickets have already been booked for this week and the following week,” the department said.
Other self-deportation ideas under the Trump administration include enforcing a long-dormant part of federal law that orders new arrivals to register with the government.
Immigration rights advocacy groups sued to block the registration, but a federal judge said they hadn’t proved enough of a legal injury to have standing.
Experts said the newcomers under Mr. Biden are the best targets for self-deportation because they haven’t established the deep roots that more long-term migrants have.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.