Media: US to offer migrant teenagers $2,500 for voluntary departure

The U.S. government plans to provide migrant teenagers with a $2,500 stipend if they voluntarily choose to return to their home countries, according to an internal federal notice obtained by CBS News.

The measure represents the latest effort by the Trump administration to encourage self-deportations.

The notice, issued Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), stated that the Department of Homeland Security “will provide a one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500 … to unaccompanied alien children, 14 years of age and older, who have elected to voluntarily depart the United States as of the date of this notice and moving forward.”

The financial incentive applies to unaccompanied migrant minors in the custody of HHS’ Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which by law is required to house them in shelters, foster homes, and other facilities until they turn 18 or can be released to an appropriate sponsor. Children from Mexico are excluded from the $2,500 offer.

Historically, most unaccompanied children in federal care are teenagers from Central America who crossed the U.S. southern border without authorisation or their parents.

HHS’s notice described the $2,500 bonus as intended to “support reintegration efforts following departure.” Voluntary departure is a specialised legal process for unaccompanied children and requires approval from an immigration judge.

CBS News contacted representatives from DHS and HHS regarding the stipend, which was initially reported by CNN. ICE stated that the voluntary departure program is initially being offered to 17-year-olds, describing it as giving minors “a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future.”

“Any payment to support a return home would be provided after an immigration judge grants the request and the individual arrives in their country of origin,” ICE said. “Access to financial support when returning home would assist, should they choose that option.”

However, critics have raised concerns about the policy. Melissa Adamson, an attorney at the National Centre for Youth Law in California, argued that unaccompanied minors “need meaningful legal guidance, not government cash payouts, to safely weigh the option of voluntary departure.” She added, “Dangling money before vulnerable children distorts this process and could endanger their lives.”

The stipend is part of broader Trump administration efforts to increase the number of unauthorised immigrants leaving the U.S., through both forced deportations and voluntary departures. In recent months, adult immigrants have been offered $1,000 and travel assistance if they self-deport to their home countries.

While ICE arrests are the most visible component of President Trump’s strict immigration agenda, the administration has also quietly sought to remove or encourage self-deportation among unaccompanied minors who entered without authorisation. Since Trump took office, HHS officials have made it more difficult for prospective sponsors—particularly those in the U.S. illegally—to take custody of unaccompanied children.

The administration has also attempted to bypass legal protections that make immediate deportations of most unaccompanied minors difficult. Federal law requires unaccompanied children who are not from Mexico or Canada to appear before an immigration judge before any deportation can occur, during which many pursue asylum or special visas for at-risk youth.

In late August, the administration tried to deport more than 70 Guatemalan children, including some with active immigration cases in the U.S., claiming that their family members had requested their return. A federal judge blocked the effort as the children were about to board planes, and a Guatemalan government report found that none of the parents had affirmatively requested their children’s return.

Additionally, Trump administration officials have instructed ICE agents to conduct “welfare checks” on unaccompanied children released from federal care across the country, citing contested claims that the Biden administration had “lost” thousands of migrant minors.

By Tamilla Hasanova