Migrants residing in the United States without legal status may soon face a stark choice — leave the country voluntarily with some financial support, or stay and risk steep fines and a possible lifetime ban.
US President Donald Trump said on April 15, 2025, that he wants to offer undocumented immigrants a “self-deportation” option under which they would receive a stipend and a plane ticket to return home. The administration, he said, would also consider allowing some of them to re-enter the US legally in future.
“We’re going to give them a stipend. We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them — if they’re good — if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can,” Trump said during a taped interview with Fox Noticias.
The proposal comes as Trump attempts to focus deportation efforts on those with criminal records. “Right now we’re getting the murderers out,” he said, but added that others could be encouraged to leave “comfortably”.
1. Self-deport with assistance
Immigrants may be offered financial aid and airfare to return home. If they comply, they might have a chance to return to the US through legal routes later.
2. Refuse to leave and face penalties
Those who ignore deportation orders could be fined up to $998 per day and risk permanent inadmissibility to the US.
The initiative was discussed after interviewer Rachel Campos-Duffy played Trump a clip of a Mexican man who had entered the US illegally over 20 years ago and now has American children. The man said he supported Trump’s stance on crime-related deportation.
“I look at this man. I say, this is a guy that we want to keep,” Trump responded. “I’ll probably take heat for saying it.”
New use for CBP app
A mobile application developed by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for asylum scheduling is now being repurposed for self-deportation. The app, renamed CBP Home, lets users submit an “intent to depart” form voluntarily.
“Undocumented immigrants have a chance to leave before facing harsher consequences,” said Pete Flores, acting CBP commissioner. He called the app a straightforward way to initiate voluntary departure.
Russell A Stamets, partner at Circle of Counsels, told Business Standard, “Self-deportation is simply when a visa holder leaves a country by their own choice rather than being deported under force of law.”
Indians among top groups
According to Pew Research Center, 725,000 undocumented Indians lived in the US in 2022, the third-largest group after Mexicans and Salvadorans. The Migration Policy Institute’s estimate was lower at 375,000, placing India fifth. Over 600 Indians have already been deported in 2025.
$998-a-day fine for non-compliance
The administration has revived a 1996 law to fine undocumented individuals who overstay their deportation orders. The law was briefly enforced in 2018 and is now being brought back, with the possibility of retroactive application for up to five years.
“If they don’t, they will face the consequences. This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order,” the Department of Homeland Security posted on X on April 11.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS spokesperson, confirmed that property seizures would also be pursued if fines go unpaid.
“President Trump and I have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now,” said Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security. “If you leave now, you may have the opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American dream.”
She added, “The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws — we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce.”
