The Trump administration has introduced a new program offering unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to voluntarily return to their home countries, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) letter obtained by Reuters.
Officials from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed the initiative, though they declined to disclose specific figures. The payment, described as a “one-time resettlement support stipend,” applies to unaccompanied minors aged 14 and above currently under US government care.
An ICE official said the program was first being extended to 17-year-olds. The offer excludes minors from Mexico but covers those who had already agreed to depart as of last Friday. Payments would be issued only after an immigration judge approved their return and the child arrived in their home country, according to Health and Human Services (HHS) communications director Andrew Nixon.
“This gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future,” Nixon said in a statement.
Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, condemned the initiative, calling it “a cruel tactic” that undermines US laws meant to protect vulnerable children. “Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States deserve our protection rather than being coerced into agreeing to return back to the very conditions that placed their lives and safety at risk,” she said.
The policy follows a similar financial offer made in June, when $250 million was reallocated from the State Department to DHS to fund voluntary deportations, with $1,000 stipends given to adults who self-deported.
More than 2,100 unaccompanied children are currently in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services. Federal data show that since 2019, over 600,000 migrant children have crossed the US-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian.
The administration’s attempts to accelerate deportations of unaccompanied minors have faced multiple legal setbacks, including a recent federal court order barring the deportation of Guatemalan children with pending immigration cases.
