Migrants Opting for Self-Deportation to Avoid ICE Arrests and Deportation

Trend of Self-Deportation

• 📈 A growing trend is emerging where migrants are choosing to self-deport from the US to avoid being apprehended by ICE agents.
• ⚠️ This decision is often made to prevent a final order of removal, which could permanently ban them from entering the US.

DHS Initiatives and Incentives

• 📱 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is encouraging self-deportation through the CBP Home app.
• ✈️ Migrants who self-deport using the app may receive a free flight home and a $1,000 exit bonus, with the possibility of legal re-entry in the future.
• 💰 Conversely, failure to depart voluntarily can result in fines of up to $1,000 per day.

Attorney and ICE Perspectives

• 🗣️ Immigration attorneys report seeing an unprecedented number of migrants self-deporting, a phenomenon they have not witnessed before.
• ⚖️ Even after arrest, ICE may drop removal proceedings if a migrant agrees to self-deport.
• 📊 DHS estimates that thousands of migrants have chosen this path.

Case Study: Francisco Hernandez Corona

• 🎓 Francisco Hernandez Corona, a Harvard graduate who lived undocumented in the US for years, chose to self-deport due to fears of ICE arrest and potential deportation to a country other than Mexico.
• ✈️ He opted to buy a plane ticket himself rather than use the CBP Home app.
• 📢 This highlights how the Trump administration's message of self-deportation or arrest is reaching the migrant community.