'If we want them back in...': Trump admin's new deportation plan includes $1000 stipend, flight assistance and more

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

"If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,” Secretary Kristi Noem said, according to news agency AP.

In the announcement, DHS said people who choose to leave "may help preserve" the ability to return legally, but did not cite any specific pathway or program. "If they're good, if we want them back in, we're going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can," he said.

The Trump administration has deported 152,000 people since January 20, according to DHS, lower than the 195,000 deported from February-April last year under his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden. This is despite Trump pledging to deport millions of people ahead of his oath-taking in January. Trump's administration has tried to encourage migrants to leave voluntarily by threatening steep fines, trying to strip away legal status, and deporting migrants to notorious prisons in Guantanamo Bay and El Salvador.

Read More | India-Pak tensions: Centre orders civil defence drills to test public alert system & response

However, the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York criticised the stipend program and said migrants considering the offer should consult with an attorney.

Natalia Aristizabal, the group's deputy director, while speaking to news agency Reuters called the program "cruel" and "misleading" and said the Trump administration failed to note the barriers that many migrants would face to return to the U.S. Trump administration will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance to migrants who elect to voluntarily "self-deport" from The US, the Department of Homeland Security said on Monday.