The Department of Homeland Security is offering to pay for illegal aliens to return home to their native countries.
Homeland Security announced that it would give illegal immigrants $1,000 when they confirm through the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Home App that they have returned to their homeland. The app also facilitates eligible illegal aliens to request financial assistance from the federal government to book their ticket and get the proper travel documentation.
The DHS currently estimates that the average cost to forcibly remove an illegal alien is $17,121. Even with the $1,000 compensation, the move still reduces deportation costs by 70%. The DHS has said that the average total cost for facilitating illegal alien self-deportation is $4,500.
The unprecedented move is designed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s agenda of deporting all the people who are in the U.S. unlawfully, including the almost 1.5 million people who continue to reside in the country despite having active deportation orders against them.
The Trump administration has said it has removed more than 100,000 illegal aliens since the president took office in January. By one estimate, 7.2 million illegal aliens crossed the U.S. border in the four years of the Biden administration. That’s more than the individual populations of 36 states. Other estimates put the total number much higher, in excess of 10 million.
The Trump administration has set a goal of deporting at least 1 million illegal aliens during its first year.
The administration is hoping to boost the number of deportations after Congress passes a budget reconciliation bill, which may provide tens of billions of additional funds to increase the detention capacity and tracking abilities of the department.
David Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, told The Washington Examiner that the additional funding would significantly impact the number of deportations.
“The courts may slow deportations to some extent, but ‘much more’ than a million is certainly achievable when money is no obstacle,” Bier said.
Illegal aliens who submit on the app their intent to voluntarily depart will also be deprioritized in deportation proceedings, such as physical removal from where they are currently living and detention. More than 40,000 illegal aliens have registered with the government so far. The DHS has emphasized that self-deportation is the most comfortable option for illegal immigrants in the U.S.
“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem explained.
“This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens, and is a 70% savings for U.S. taxpayers. Download the CBP Home App TODAY and self-deport,” Noem said.
This article was originally published at www.dailysignal.com
