“This was a voluntary charter flight, not an [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] enforcement operation,” DHS said in its announcement, adding that the flight traveled from Houston to Honduras and Colombia.
People partaking in the program were “offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the CBP Home App,” according to DHS, which also said that all of those people received a $1,000 stipend, received travel assistance, and retained the possibility of returning to the United States legally.
In Honduras, the agency added, 38 individuals who participated in the program “were warmly welcomed by their home government and family members” and also received benefits from the Honduran government.
Twenty-six people returned to Colombia via the program, and they “were welcomed back by their families and representatives of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Migration Colombia,” according to DHS.
“Today, DHS conducted its first Project Homecoming charter flight of 64 individuals who voluntarily chose to self-deport to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.
Noem reiterated that people who are illegally in the United States should take advantage of the CBP Home program to get financial support to return to their native countries.
“If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return,” she said. “If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way.”
Previously, Trump administration officials have said that self-deportations are likely the best way for illegal immigrants to avoid being targeted by immigration enforcement officials.
Upon CBP One’s cancellation just hours after President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20, illegal immigrants could no longer schedule appointments, and tens of thousands of border appointments were scrapped.
More than 900,000 people entered the country on immigration parole via the CBP One app, generally for two years, starting in January 2023.
During his campaign and in the first months of his administration, Trump has made immigration enforcement and bolstering border security a centerpiece of his agenda. Some of his policy initiatives and executive orders regarding deportations have been stymied by federal courts.
On May 19, the Supreme Court, in a 6–3 order, handed a win to the administration, allowing the government to end deportation protection for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan illegal immigrants. Earlier this year, Noem moved to end temporary protection status for these Venezuelan nationals.
However, the high court also has been involved in slowing Trump’s efforts to swiftly deport Venezuelan gang members to a prison in El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act.
