Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Monday a $3,000 holiday incentive for those living in the United States illegally to self-deport back home by Dec. 31.
“This Christmas season, the U.S. taxpayer is generously TRIPLING the incentive for illegal aliens to leave voluntarily,” Noem wrote on X. “Through the end of the year, illegal aliens who self-deport using the CBP Home App can receive a $3,000 exit bonus.”
She added the migrants in the U.S. illegally should “take advantage of this gift” because if they don’t, “we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will not return.”
During an appearance on Fox News, Noem said the offer includes a free one-way flight so they can go “home for the holiday season.”
“Self-deportation through the CBP Home app is the best gift that an illegal alien can give themselves and their families this holiday season,” a news release said. “Those illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer today have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States.”
The Department of Homeland Security began offering $1,000 and free travel for CBP Home users in May. Noem called it “the safest option for law enforcement and a 70% savings for U.S. taxpayers.”
Since January, 1.9 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported and tens of thousands have used the CPB Home program, according to Noem.
To help increase the Trump administration’s crackdown on those in the country illegally, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also unveiled “competitive financial incentives, including up to $60,000 for new Border Patrol agents and CBP officers, to attract highly skilled professionals for key law enforcement and specialized roles within the agency.”
CBP said the incentive was enabled by the One Big Beautiful Bill’s investment in border security.
During an appearance earlier this month before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the committee’s ranking Democrat, called on Noem to resign.
Noem did not address the call to resign and suggested she and DHS weren’t going anywhere.
“We will never yield. We will never waver,” she said. “We’re ending illegal immigration, returning sanity to our immigration system.”
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