The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is offering unaccompanied minors aged 14 and older a $2,500 financial incentive to voluntarily leave the United States and return to their home countries, according to multiple reports and an email obtained by The Associated Press (AP).
The offer, managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has reportedly been relayed to migrant shelters, giving eligible teenagers a 24-hour window to respond and claim the financial stipend if they choose to self-deport. This policy expands upon previous Trump administration plans that had offered financial incentives, including a $1,000 stipend and flight assistance, for illegal migrants to self-deport.
An ICE spokesperson told the Tampa Free Press that the initiative is a “strictly voluntary option” in collaboration with the Office of Refugee and Resettlement at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“This voluntary option gives UACs [unaccompanied alien children] a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future,” the spokesperson said.
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The email sent to shelters reportedly did not indicate any consequences for minors who decline the offer.
The agency further clarified that “Any payment to support a return home would be provided after an immigration judge grants the request and the individual arrives in their country of origin.” ICE noted that this financial support “would assist should they choose that option.”
The spokesperson initially stated that the offer would be for 17-year-olds, though the email to shelters indicated eligibility for those 14 and older. The agency emphasized that many UACs were “dangerously smuggled into this country” by cartels during the previous administration.
Context of Migration Crackdown
The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to crack down on illegal migration, a key campaign promise. DHS recently announced that over two million illegal migrants have self-deported or “been removed” from the U.S. within the first 250 days of the President’s second term.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has encouraged migrants to “self-deport” in a broadcast campaign.
As of October 2, there were over 2,000 migrant children in the custody of HHS.
The agency also confirmed that its “large-scale deportation efforts” will not be impeded by the ongoing federal government shutdown. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that, thanks to the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” ICE will continue to “remove the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens including rapists, pedophiles, murderers, gang members and terrorists from our country.”
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