The true cost of self-exile

TeaThe Department of Homeland Security recently released a holiday ad that combines a familiar message with festive memories.

A black and white montage with singer Perry Como’s Christmas classic, “Home for the Holidays” showed Before boarding the plane, people were taking what looked like gifts – stuffed animals and playing cards – for their loved ones.

The ad’s caption reads, “This holiday season, give yourself the gift of home with the CBP Home app.”

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House — and implemented his mass deportation agenda — the CBP Home app has been touted by administration officials as a “respectful” way for immigrants to self-deport.

Immigrants without criminal convictions are eligible to use the app in exchange for $1,000.stipend,” Free airfare, according to DHS, and avoiding encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

once a user Download the CBP Home AppThey choose the language they want to use, and can then select one of two options: “I am ready to leave the US” or “Verify I have left the US.” The user then fills out their personal information, takes a selfie, and then submits that information. The app then asks users if they want to add others to their “group”. At the end of the prompts, a message pops up saying “someone will reach out to you soon” and the user will receive an email about next steps. The app also promotes a $1,000 “exit bonus.”

But immigration law experts warn that many immigrants are being directed to the app without a full understanding that self-deportation is not risk-free.

desire to escape “horrific“Conditions in detention centers, uncertain outcomes in lengthy immigration cases, and Unexpected, terrifying ICE raids It appears to be promoting self-deportation, but legal experts say using the app can still result in immigrants being detained by federal agents and separated from family members for long periods of time.

In some cases, immigrants may never be allowed to return to the US.

The government has spent more than to $200 million Advertisement CBP Home – and nearly 38,000 people have used the app to leave the US since March, when self-deportations took place feature launchedAs of Nov. 25, according to internal DHS data seen by Independent,

“Self-deportation is a safe and dignified way for lawbreakers who moved here illegally,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.

Self-deportation doesn’t just boost Trump’s numbers — he’s said he wants it Every year 10 lakh immigrants go out of the country – But the administration has argued that this strategy is saving taxpayers money. DHS spokesperson said the government spends $3,500 per person on self-deportation, This represents an “80 percent savings” over the $17,000 the government spends to arrest, detain and remove a person, the official said.

But critics argue Other prices are also attached, Both financial and personal, which the administration’s cost analysis does not take into account.

It is believed that immigrants contribute the most $580 billion per year in taxes.

Researchers at the Peterson Institute for International Economics found that Trump’s mass deportation plan could have a significant impact on the US economy, reducing the employment rate by 7 percent and GDP by 7.4 percent by 2028. The researchers noted that these deportations would result in not only losing workers, but also consumers.

“In addition to the ethical issue of rounding up millions of people and disrupting their families, workplaces, and livelihoods, Trump’s ‘America First’ proposal for mass deportations would raise prices, cost jobs, and harm the U.S. economy,” the researchers said.

DHS said 2.5 million immigrants have left the US since Trump took office. About 605,000 people were deported involuntarily, while 1.9 million people have voluntarily self-deported.

It’s unclear whether that figure includes self-deportations through the CBP Home app voluntary departure – A court-approved process that allows immigrants to leave the US at their own expense to avoid a deportation order, making it easier to return. Independent Has sought more information from DHS.

Judges have approved more than 28,000 voluntary departure applications so far this year, according to data from the nonprofit track. In the four years of the Biden administration, more than 29,000 people left the US through voluntary departure.

Experts say immigrants who use the app for self-deportation potentially face another, greater personal cost.

In May, Homeland Security announced $1,000 stipends for “travel assistance”—which the American Immigration Lawyers Association described as “misleading.” Organization label The government’s offer of self-deportation has been described as a “highly misleading and unethical move”.

,[It] Gives people the impression that there will be no consequences, such as being barred from returning in the future. No person should be accepted without receiving good legal advice from an immigration attorney or other qualified representative, the American Immigration Lawyers Association said in a statement at the time.

National Immigration Project, a nonprofit that provides legal representation and assistance to immigrants, caution To be able to return to the US after self-deportation, one must have a “basis for return”, such as a spouse or parent who is a US citizen or permanent resident.

The group warned, “For many, there may be no basis to return to the United States on a permanent basis; even for those who have qualifying relatives, the backlog of these visas remains very long for some countries and family ties.”

Once leaving the country, undocumented immigrants face a 3-year or 10-year ban from entering the US, depending on how long they have been there.

Others — including people who have returned to the U.S. without permission after being deported — will face a permanent bar, according to the nonprofit.

Advocacy Group It also warned that immigrants with ongoing cases could still be given deportation orders even if they choose to self-deport, making it more difficult to return to the US.

“Even if you use the CBP Home app to let DHS know that you are leaving, you risk receiving a deportation order from the immigration court in your absence after you leave that will prevent you from returning to the United States. Leaving the country will mean that the immigration applications you submitted will be considered abandoned and will make it harder for you to obtain future immigration benefits,” says the nonprofit Refugee International. Said On its website.

There are also reportedly instances in which immigrants who used the CBP Home app to self-deport were still detained by federal immigration agents.

“We’ve heard of some cases where people are using apps to facilitate their return to their country, but they’re still being detained, either while they’re waiting for their flight out of the country or when they’re physically trying to leave the country,” said Vanessa Dozquez-Torres, an attorney with the American Immigration Lawyers Association. wired,

In Chicago, a Venezuelan asylum seeker said he struggled to leave the US after opting for self-deportation using the app, fearing the worst from increasingly aggressive ICE raids in the city.

The 25-year-old migrant mother of two children told ProPublica She was told by someone who worked in the CBP Home App program that she could get on a flight to Venezuela next month if she used the app. When her departure date passed, she called the program several times, ultimately being told by a program worker that there might be a delay in receiving her travel documents.

While waiting with the packed bag, she said she had registered on the app twice more. He said that he still has not been given any information about the flight.

“I feel so scared, I’m always looking around,” she told ProPublica. “As the president said, I was trying to go voluntarily.”