The United States government offers US$2,600 in cash to illegal immigrants who decide voluntarily leave the countryin addition to a free flight back to your home country. The incentive is part of the program CBP Homedriven by Department of Homeland Security (DHS)and seeks to reduce the cost and conflict of forced deportations.
The initiative was relaunched and expanded on January 21, 2026when the stipend went from US$1,000 to US$2,600coinciding with the first anniversary of the new government of donald trump. According to official data, the objective is to encourage the call “voluntary self-deportation”an alternative that is significantly cheaper for the State than traditional expulsion operations.
According to the DHS, A forced deportation costs an average of US$18,245while a voluntary departure managed through the official application has an estimated cost of US$5,100 per person. In this framework, cash payment and airfare function as an economic and logistical incentive to accelerate departures.
The program is aimed exclusively at people who are in the United States without legal status. US citizens, permanent residents and people with approved asylum cannot enter. To apply, interested parties must use the app CBP Homewhere they verify their identity, declare their decision to leave the country and allow the system to manage both the flight and the payment, which is made once their return is confirmed.
From the DHS they indicated that more than 2.2 million immigrants have self-deported since January 2025and tens of thousands They already used the CBP Home program. The Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noemdefined the initiative as “a gift” for those who choose to leave before facing arrests and court proceedings. ICE.
The official campaign includes audiovisual pieces disseminated on DHS social networks. One of the most commented ads, titled “HOMESICK?”shows landscapes from different countries of origin, images of airports and subtitled fragments of the song Home Sweet Homewith a direct message: return home with money and paid fare, or risk forced deportation.
The program generated debate inside and outside the United States. While the government presents it as an efficient tool to reduce illegal immigration and public spendingits critics question the use of taxpayer funds to offer economic incentives to people in an irregular situation and the advertising tone of the official campaign.
