US triples stipend offer to migrants who ‘self-deport’ to $3,900

WASHINGTON – The Trump administration has tripled its

stipend offer to migrants

who choose to voluntarily “self-deport” from the US to US$3,000 (S$3,900), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Dec 22.

The stipend would be given to people in the US illegally who sign up to leave the country by the end of 2025, DHS said. The offer would include a free flight back to their home countries, it added.

“Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because, if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

The Trump administration in March

launched a rebranded app called CBP Home

to make it easier for people to self-deport. The app, previously called CBP One, was used by the Biden administration to allow migrants to enter the US legally.

DHS said in May that the average cost to arrest, detain and deport someone without legal status was around US$17,000.

US President Donald Trump, who

took office in January

promising record levels of deportations, has ramped up his crackdown on immigration despite backlash.

While he has promised to remove a million immigrants each year, his administration has so far managed to deport some 622,000 immigrants in 2025.

The administration is preparing for a more aggressive push against immigration in 2026 with billions in new funding.

US officials say they plan to hire thousands more immigration agents, open new detention centres and partner with outside companies to track down people without legal status. REUTERS