Updated on

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23 Dec 2025, 11:54 am

CHANDIGARH: To escalate mass deportations and slash enforcement costs, the United States has announced a Christmas offer for illegal immigrants to leave the country voluntarily.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has now offered illegal aliens $3,000 ( approximately Rs 2.70 lakh) along with free flight, if they agree to leave the US before the end of the year.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that it is continuing to deliver this holiday season on its promise to help illegal immigrants in the United States return home.

"Illegal aliens who sign up to self-deport through the CBP (Customs and Border Protection) Home app by the end of the year will receive a $3,000 stipend in addition to a free flight home. Using the CBP Home app qualifies recipients for forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties for failing to depart the country,’’ it read.

The statement further added, "Self-deportation through the CBP Home app is the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday season. It’s a fast, free, and easy process: Just download the app, fill out your information, and DHS will take care of the rest – including arranging and paying for your travel back home."

"Those illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States,’’ it stated.

Since January 2025, 1.9 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported, and tens of thousands have used the CBP Home program.

"Illegal aliens should take advantage of this offer and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, arrest them, and they will never return, ‘’said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The CBP app was formulated during the Biden administration for migrants to schedule asylum interviews, but the President Donald Trump administration rebranded it and transformed its purpose.

Earlier in May this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced financial and travel assistance to facilitate illegal immigrants to travel back to their home country through the CBP Home App.

It has been stated that any illegal immigrant who uses the CBP Home App to self-deport will get a stipend of USD 1,000, paid after their return to their home country is confirmed through the app.

DHS had then called self-deportation a dignified way to leave the US and said that it would allow them to avoid being encountered by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It had also been said that it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70 per cent.

As of May, the average cost to arrest, detain and remove an illegal immigrant was USD 17,121.