WASHINGTON: The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily “self deport” from the US, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.

The stipend and potential airfare for migrants who voluntarily depart would cost less than an actual deportation, the agency said. The average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting someone without legal status is currently about $17,000, according to DHS.

President Donald Trump, a Republican, took office in January pledging to deport millions of people but so far has trailed deportations under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. Biden’s administration faced high levels of illegal immigration and quickly returned many caught crossing the border.

The Trump administration has deported 152,000 people since January 20, according to DHS, lower than the 195,000 deported from February-April last year under Biden.

Trump’s administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2025