The United States will offer US$3,000 and a free plane ticket to anyone who chooses to self-deport. The authorities plan to strengthen anti-immigration actions in 2026, with the recruitment of agents, better monitoring and new detention centers. The United States government has tripled the aid offered to immigrants who choose to voluntarily leave the country, increasing the value of financial aid to $3,000 (R$16,000), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported this Monday (12/22).
The assistance will be provided to undocumented people in the United States who seek self-deportation by the end of the year, DHS said. The offer includes a free return flight to their country of origin.
“Illegal immigrants must seize this opportunity and self-deport, or we will find them, arrest them, and they will never return,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
In March, President Donald Trump’s administration launched a new version of the app called CBP Home to make self-deportation easier. The app, previously called CBP One, was used by Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden to allow immigrants to legally enter the United States.
In May, DHS said the average cost to arrest, detain and deport someone without legal status was about $17,000.
Repression expected to intensify in 2026
President Trump, who took office in January promising record levels of deportations, has stepped up the immigration crackdown despite public backlash. Although he promised to deport one million immigrants per year, his government managed to deport around 622,000 immigrants by 2025.
The government is preparing an even more aggressive offensive against immigration in 2026, with billions in new resources. U.S. authorities say they plan to hire thousands of immigration agents, open new detention centers and partner with outside companies to track down people without legal status.
Among other actions, the measures include carrying out more police raids on workplaces.
Trump has already sent immigration agents into major US cities, where they invaded neighborhoods and confronted residents. Although federal agents have conducted high-profile raids on businesses this year, they have largely avoided going after farms, factories and other sectors that are economically important but employ immigrants without legal status.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol will receive $170 billion in additional funding through September 2029 – a huge increase from their existing annual budgets of around $19 billion, after Congress approved a massive spending package in July.
Unpopularity of anti-immigration actions
The expanded deportation plans come despite growing signs of political backlash as next year’s midterm elections approach.
Miami, one of the cities hardest hit by Trump’s crackdown because of its large immigrant population, last week elected its first Democratic mayor in nearly three decades, which the candidate-elect said was partly a reaction to the president.
Other elections and local polls suggest growing concern among voters who are wary of aggressive immigration tactics.
Trump’s overall approval rating on immigration policy fell from 50% in March, before he launched crackdowns on several major U.S. cities, to 41% in mid-December.
RC (Reuters)
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