By Steve Neavling
The Department of Homeland Security is offering undocumented immigrants a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance if they voluntarily leave the country using a new federal mobile app.
The incentive program, announced Monday, is part of a broader push by the Trump administration to reduce deportation costs and encourage self-removal, NBC News reports. Immigrants who use the CBP Home app to report their departure will receive the money only after DHS confirms they have left the U.S.
“Self-deportations are the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release.
The app requires users to upload documents, biographical information, and facial images and to verify they are at least three miles outside the U.S. DHS says self-removal may also improve a person’s chances of legally returning in the future, though advocates caution that reentry is often limited or barred for years.
The CBP Home app, a revamped version of the Biden-era CBP One platform, has been downloaded about 300,000 times in 2025, according to the data firm Appfigures. DHS says at least 5,000 people have reported plans to self-deport, though the agency has not disclosed how many have completed the process.
Each traditional deportation costs taxpayers more than $17,000. DHS estimates self-deportations will cut those expenses by 70%, even after providing stipends.
