Donald Trump’s administration has launched a voluntary ‘self-deportation’ initiative offering $1,000 to illegal immigrants who choose to leave the USA. Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem described it as a safer, more cost-effective alternative to forced removal. In addition to the cash incentive, the government will cover travel costs and provide return assistance via an app called CBP Home. Participants would be ‘deprioritised’ for detention and only receive the payout after their return is verified. The Department of Homeland Security highlighted the fiscal rationale: removing someone through standard procedures costs over $17,000. Trump, who made mass deportation central to his platform, argues this strategy fulfils his promises more economically. Critics, however, question its effectiveness and ethics. During his campaign, he repeatedly said that he planned to carry out ‘the largest deportation operation’ in American history, but so far the numbers have not matched his promises.