The federal government is sweetening the deal for undocumented immigrants who choose to leave on their own—and threatening a harsher path for those who don't. The Department of Homeland Security has boosted its one-time "exit bonus" for migrants who voluntarily depart the US from $1,000 to $3,000, as long as they register and exit by Dec. 31, reports CBS News. Participants would also get free airfare to their home countries and waivers for certain civil penalties, according to the agency. To enroll, migrants must use a newly branded smartphone tool called the CBP Home app, modeled on the Biden-era CBP One platform but repurposed by the Trump administration to track departures instead of scheduling asylum appointments.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem framed the program as a limited-time offer with sharp consequences for anyone who declines. "We will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return," she said, per Axios. DHS says migrants who sign up and show "meaningful strides" toward leaving will be deprioritized for arrest and detention, though it has not clarified how that progress will be measured or how long that protection might last. The $3,000 would be a bargain, notes the Wall Street Journal. The estimated cost of arresting, detaining, and removing migrants here illegally is about $17,000.
The agency says about 1.9 million undocumented immigrants have left the country voluntarily this year, including "tens of thousands" who used CBP Home, though those numbers have not been independently confirmed. Internal data previously obtained by CBS News showed that during the first six months of Trump's second term, the government formally deported nearly 150,000 people and recorded 13,000 self-departures.
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
