President Donald Trump's self-deportation program, known as Project Homecoming, has reportedly facilitated over 200,000 departures of unauthorized immigrants from the U.S. The program, which began last year, has a budget of nearly $600 million and has helped approximately 132,000 individuals leave the country as of July 16. An additional 70,000 individuals are signed up to participate.
The initiative is part of a broader strategy to remove 1 million unauthorized immigrants annually. It offers a stipend to those who voluntarily leave, which has increased from $1,000 to $2,600. The program has been particularly focused on individuals in detention, with about half of the departures involving detained immigrants.
Despite the program's progress, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has not released official statistics to confirm its effectiveness. The funding for the program is set to expire at the end of August, and DHS is currently seeking bids for a new contract.
Project Homecoming initially attracted around 24,000 participants in its first six months, but pressure from the White House led to a push for increased participation. Currently, case managers for the program are present in 40 ICE detention sites, and the average time spent in detention for those opting for self-deportation has decreased significantly.
Each self-deportation costs the government approximately $2,500, compared to about $18,245 for those who do not volunteer. Critics of the program argue that it could have been better managed by the UN's International Organization for Migration, which previously promoted its involvement but is no longer participating.