U.S. offers free flight, $1,000 stipend to illegal immigrants for self-deportation

The United States Government has offered free flight and $1,000 stipend to non-immigrants with no legal status in the country to self-deport themselves.

The Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Harry Fones, disclosed this during a press briefing on Thursday, July 10, 2025.

Fones discussed the updates to the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One home mobile application that offers illegal immigrants the opportunity to voluntarily depart the United States.

He said: “What this does is that if you are here in the United States illegally, you can download the CBP home app, you can register on it.

“The United States Government will provide you with a free flight home.

“You will also receive a $1,000 stipend that is paid once it’s confirmed that you have departed the United States.”

Fones added that people can use the app to also register children, just as the entire family can utilise it with family members getting the benefits.

Fones said: “So if it’s a family of, let’s say, four, that family would receive a stipend of $4,000.

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“There’s the financial benefit, but there is the benefit that this could help preserve a way for you to come back into the United States in the future.

“Whereas if you are deported, you will not be able to return to this country.

“We are enforcing the laws of this country. Deportation is a priority of this administration.”

Speaking further on the app, the U.S. official said it has other benefits, adding that a major update has been made to make it better streamlined and more user-friendly.

Fones said total fines for failure by illegal immigrants to voluntary exit the U.S. could be up to $10,000 with those who fail to comply with a final removal order getting up to $998 a day.

He said CBP was working with the Department of Justice to make it easier and more efficient for the agency to administer the fines.

He states: “The CBP home app is a great alternative to deportation by the United States Government.

“So if you use this app, it does deprioritise you from ICE’s (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) deportation list.

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“And it can also help possibly preserve your ability to come back into the United States legally later.

“If you don’t use this app and you don’t depart the U.S., we are enforcing this nation’s laws when it comes to immigration now, and it could result in a deportation.”

The Star