United States Offers IDR 16 Million For Immigrants Who Deport Themselves Willingly

Illustration of the United States - Mexico border. (Wikimedia Commons/Sgt. 1st Class Gordon Hyde)

JAKARTA - President Donald Trump's administration will offer a $1.000 allowance and travel assistance for migrants who choose to voluntarily "deport themselves" from the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Monday.

Allowances and plane ticket fees for migrants departing voluntarily will be cheaper than actual deportations, the department said.

On the other hand, the average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting someone without a legal status is currently around $17,000, according to DHS.

"If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrests," the Secretary of Homeland Security of Kristi Noem said in a statement.

President Trump previewed the allowance plan in April, saying the US would consider allowing migrants back.

"If they are fine, if we want them back, we will work with them to get them back as soon as possible," he said.

In Monday's announcement, DHS said people who voted to leave "could help maintain" the ability to return legally, but did not mention certain pathways or programs.

Earlier, Republican presidents who took office for the second time in January had promised to deport millions of people, but have so far lagged behind deportation under his predecessor Democrat Joe Biden.

The Biden administration faces high levels of illegal immigration and quickly repatriates many people caught crossing the border.

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

The Trump administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening high fines, trying to revoke legal status, and deport migrants to famous prisons in Teluk 04s and El Salvador.

In March, the government launched a new application called CBP Home to facilitate self-deportation.

The application, previously called CBP One, was used by the Biden administration to allow migrants to enter the US legally.

Separately, the advocacy group of New York Make the Road immigrants criticized the allowance program, saying migrants considering the offer should consult a lawyer.

Natalia Aristizabal, deputy director of the group called the program "cruel" and "misleading", said the Trump Administration failed to pay attention to the obstacles many migrants would face to return to the US.