How Trump's "self-deportation" machine has ramped up
President Trump's controversial "self-deportation" program, which pays unauthorized immigrants to leave the U.S., is on pace to account for more than 200,000 departures, according to internal data shared with Axios.Why it matters: Launched last year alongside a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, the initiative is virtually the only carrot in an aggressive immigration crackdown that has been long on sticks.Through July 16, the nearly $600 million program — dubbed Project Homecoming by the Department of Homeland Security — has helped about 132,000 people exit the U.S.Roughly 70,000 more have signed up and are on track to leave, according to the data.About half of the self-deportations have involved immigrants held in detention, under an effort that accelerated the departures and began when a DOGE staffer brought Project Homecoming into ICE facilities.The big picture: The self-deportation program is a key part of the administration's push to remove 1 million unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. each year.The idea was that unauthorized immigrants would be so fearful of being arrested and detained by ICE or Customs and Border Protection that they'd voluntarily leave the U.S., with the promise of free travel and a stipend of $1,000, paid once they had left.The stipend has increased to $2,600 and was briefly $3,000 last Christmas.Border czar Tom Homan said in May that encouraging self-deportations was "part of the plan from the very beginning."Last year, then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons described the program as a way for the agency to "see our number" on deportations.
Reported by 1 outlet — Axios. See all sources ↓
President Trump's controversial "self-deportation" program, which pays unauthorized immigrants to leave the U.S., is on pace to account for more than 200,000 departures, according to internal data shared with Axios.Why it matters: Launched last year alongside a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, the initiative is virtually the only carrot in an aggressive immigration crackdown that has been long on sticks.Through July 16, the nearly $600 million program — dubbed Project Homecoming by the Department of Homeland Security — has helped about 132,000 people exit the U.S.Roughly 70,000 more have signed up and are on track to leave, according to the data.About half of the self-deportations have involved immigrants held in detention, under an effort that accelerated the departures and began when a DOGE staffer brought Project Homecoming into ICE facilities.The big picture: The self-deportation program is a key part of the administration's push to remove 1 million unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. each year.The idea was that unauthorized immigrants would be so fearful of being arrested and detained by ICE or Customs and Border Protection that they'd voluntarily leave the U.S., with the promise of free travel and a stipend of $1,000, paid once they had left.The stipend has increased to $2,600 and was briefly $3,000 last Christmas.Border czar Tom Homan said in May that encouraging self-deportations was "part of the plan from the very beginning."Last year, then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons described the program as a way for the agency to "see our number" on deportations. But DHS hasn't released any official statistics to confirm its progress. The government contract for the self-deportation program will run out of funds by the end of August, and DHS is seeking bids for another contract.
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- What's the story?
- President Trump's controversial "self-deportation" program, which pays unauthorized immigrants to leave the U.S., is on pace to account for more than 200,000 departures, according to internal data shared with Axios.Why it matters: Launched last year alongside a multimillion-dollar ad campaign, the initiative is virtually the only carrot in an aggressive immigration crackdown that has been long on sticks.Through July 16, the nearly $600 million program — dubbed Project Homecoming by the Department of Homeland Security — has helped about 132,000 people exit the U.S.Roughly 70,000 more have signed up and are on track to leave, according to the data.About half of the self-deportations have involved immigrants held in detention, under an effort that accelerated the departures and began when a DOGE staffer brought Project Homecoming into ICE facilities.The big picture: The self-deportation program is a key part of the administration's push to remove 1 million unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. each year.The idea was that unauthorized immigrants would be so fearful of being arrested and detained by ICE or Customs and Border Protection that they'd voluntarily leave the U.S., with the promise of free travel and a stipend of $1,000, paid once they had left.The stipend has increased to $2,600 and was briefly $3,000 last Christmas.Border czar Tom Homan said in May that encouraging self-deportations was "part of the plan from the very beginning."Last year, then-acting ICE director Todd Lyons described the program as a way for the agency to "see our number" on deportations.
- How widely is it covered?
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- When was it last updated?
- 9m ago.
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How Trump's "self-deportation" machine has ramped up
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