US launches programme paying migrants €888 to self-deport
On Monday, US authorities sent the first 64 people back to Honduras and Colombia as part of a programme encouraging what the Trump administration calls voluntary "self-deportation." In exchange for leaving the country, migrants received €888 from the government.
The US Department of Homeland Security noted in a statement that it was a "voluntary charter flight," and not an ICE immigration enforcement operation. According to the department, 38 people were sent to Honduras and 26 to Colombia.
In Honduras, the compatriots returning from the US were welcomed at the airport by Deputy Foreign Minister Antonio Garcia. The Deputy Minister emphasised that the government will additionally support them with €89 in cash and vouchers worth €177 for purchasing essential goods.
Among those arriving in Honduras on Monday were 19 children. Four of them were born in the United States, Garcia reported.
The US Department of Homeland Security announced in May that migrants residing in the US without proper permits will receive €888 and avoid penalties if they register through a special application and voluntarily leave the country. The department claims this will reduce deportation costs, which currently average €15,000 per person, CNN reported.
The project encouraging "self-deportation" is part of President Trump's broader campaign against illegal immigration. As part of this campaign, the US administration also sent hundreds of foreigners to a prison for terrorists in El Salvador, citing 18th-century wartime regulations.
