“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement after an announcement in this regard.
Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the US and will allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the statement said.
“Even with the cost of the stipend, it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70 per cent. Currently the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is USD17,121,” DHS said.
According to DHS, the first use of travel assistance has already proven successful. An illegal alien that the Biden administration allowed into the US recently utilised the program to receive a ticket for a flight from Chicago to Honduras. Additional tickets have already been booked for this week and the following week.
Illegal aliens submitting their intent to voluntarily self-deport in the CBP Home will also be deprioritised for detention and removal ahead of their departure as long as they demonstrate they are making meaningful strides in completing that departure.
The United States is estimated to have more than 11 million illegal immigrants. As per a 2022 estimate of Department of Homeland Security, the maximum number of 4.8 million illegal immigrants are from Mexico, followed by Guatemala (750,000), El Salvador (710,00) and Honduras (560.000).
