US offers $1,000 stipend to encourage migrants to self-deport

The Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily "self-deport" from the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.

The stipend and potential airfare for migrants who voluntarily depart would cost less than an actual deportation, the agency said. The average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting someone without legal status is currently about $17,000, according to DHS.

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President Donald Trump, a Republican, took office in January pledging to deport millions of people but so far has trailed deportations under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. Biden's administration faced high levels of illegal immigration and quickly returned many caught crossing the border.