The Trump Administration has been encouraging people who are in the United States without lawful status to “self deport,” but what does this mean? In 2025, the Trump Administration began encouraging undocumented people who are in the United States without lawful immigration status to “self-deport,” known as “Project Homecoming.” It even repurposed an app that was once meant for making asylum appointments near the southern border (the CBP One app) to a mechanism for reporting one’s self-deportation (the CBP Home app), and promised a $1,000 stipend or "exit bonus" and a free flight home to those who used it to report their departure. That amount was raised to $2,600 in January of 2026. Before considering joining the ranks of those who've self-deported, however, it’s worth understanding the legal and practical implications, as discussed below. Also, as a side caution: If you had the CBP One app on your phone and aren't interested in self-deportation, you might want to delete it, or turn off its location-tracking functions. In This ArticleWhat Is the Legal Definition of Self-Deportation?What Does the U.S. Government Say Self-Deportation Offers?What Are Possible Down Sides to Self-Deportation Using CBP Home?Who Is Eligible to Self-Deport?Are People Getting the Promised Plane Tickets and Stipend Money?What Are the Penalties for Not Self-Deporting?See an Attorney Before Considering Self-DeportationWhat Is the Legal Definition of Self-Deportation? There is no definition of self-deportation found in U.S. immigration law. It’s never been a “thing.” The closest one might find to the self-deportation concept is where a foreign national has been placed in deportation proceedings, where an immigration judge has actually issued an order of deportation in someone’s case, and that order has become final; and then the person decides not to wait for the U.S. government to arrange transport to their home country but instead to leave the United States on their own. (It's not clear that this would qualify them for the $2,600, either.) There is a related legal option called “voluntary departure” or “voluntary return” (VR), which a judge can grant early on in immigration court proceedings, allowing the foreign national to leave the United States on their own. This is a formal arrangement, in which the immigrant must concede deportability, in some cases post a bond, and leave the United States by a certain date set by the judge. The main reason people request VR is that it avoids having a deportation on their record, which is a bar to future U.S. entry for at least 5, and sometimes as many as 20 years years. (See Why Request Voluntary Departure Instead of Removal?) and How Long After Deportation Must I Wait Before Returning to the U.S.?) Failure to leave the United States by the scheduled VR date would, however, convert the judge’s grant into an order of deportation. (See Voluntary Departure: What Happens If You Don't Leave the United States?.) To further confuse matters, the DHS apparently sometimes calls Project Homecoming the "Incentivized Voluntary Departure (IVD) program." This name would make anyone think the program offers the benefits of voluntary departure, though legally it cannot. What Does the U.S. Government Say Self-Deportation Offers? Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) states on its website that “Self-deportation is the act of leaving the U.S. on your own initiative when you’re illegally present.” It names some benefits to self-deportation, such as being able to plan and organize your departure, with plane fare, an exit bonus, forgiveness of civil fines assessed for failure to depart after a deportation order or agreeing to voluntary departure, and assistance from U.S. government agencies). It also names some risks to not self-deporting (such as the possibility that ICE might catch, arrest, and detain you before ultimately deporting you). You might also see signs on the walls of U.S. immigration courts encouraging self-deportation. ICE’s actions during the Trump administration have also emphasized its aim to make undocumented immigrants feel sufficiently uncomfortable, and so scared about the prospect of being not only detained for long time periods in the United States but sent to a foreign prison that they will elect to depart of their own accord. The ICE website also states that the agency “may agree to seek dismissal of removal proceedings if you prove you left the U.S. on your own—and that way, you may be able to avoid getting a final order of removal (and the negative consequences that come with it).” However, ICE fails to describe any mechanism to ask for such a dismissal. There is nothing formalized about this supposed process. In particular, it remains unclear why or how ICE would “agree to seek dismissal of removal proceedings,” since it doesn’t stand to gain much by going through this effort. The ICE website neglects to mention the potential negative legal consequences of leaving the United States on one’s own, particularly for people who were already in removal proceedings. Despite the many promises, using the CBP Home app doesn't come with any rights to return to the United States. What Are Possible Down Sides to Self-Deportation Using CBP Home? If you leave the United States on your own through the Project Homecoming program, you could end up: abandoning claims you’re entitled to make losing DACA status or the right to continue with other immigration applications you have pending (talk to an attorney for details; this is a complex and fact-dependent matter, with workarounds possible in some cases) having an order of deportation added to your immigration record (with a multi-year bar on returning), and/or subject to a 3- or 10-year bar on reentry owing to your past unlawful presence in the United States. Staying in the United States without authorization, particularly if you have been a law-abiding person up to now, does offer some legal possibilities. If, for example, you fear persecution in your home country and thus might have a case for asylum, but then you left the United States rather than applying for it, you would no longer be able to submit that asylum application. (Asylum can be applied for only while someone is in the United States.) Or, if you have been hoping to apply for cancellation of removal based on your minimum 10 years in the United States with good moral character, which application can be made only in U.S. immigration court (EOIR), you would lose that possibility if you were to leave the United States. If you later returned, and hoped to pick up on that cancellation of removal possibility, you wouldn’t be able to count your earlier years in the United States toward the 10-year minimum. And if you were to decide later to try to enter the United States lawfully, you could be subject to a 3- or 10-year inadmissibility bar based on your past unlawful presence; or if you tried to enter unlawfully, you could become subject to the “permanent bar” on admissibility based on the repeated illegal entries. Some government publicity materials claim that self-deporting will make it easier to return at a later time, but there is no apparent legal basis for such statements. Finally, ICE has not given full assurances that it will keep track of who has self-deported and terminate their deportation proceedings accordingly. If you don't show up in immigration court on a date you are scheduled for a hearing, the immigration judge could still order you deported in absentia, meaning based on your absence. You might think this isn't a big deal, since you're already gone from the United States, but it could have negative consequences with regard to your ability to lawfully return. Every order of deportation raises the penalties against people who seek U.S. reentry; for one thing, it usually creates a minimum five-year bar on reentry. (See How Long After Deportation Must I Wait Before Returning to the U.S.?) Who Is Eligible to Self-Deport? At the start of this program, the self-deportation option, with exit bonus, was available only to limited categories of foreign nationals. Current DHS instructions, however, state that all "illegal" non-citizens without a criminal history are eligible to self-deport using the CBP Home app. People who are in ICE detention can definitely use the program; in fact, CNN reported in March of 2026 that they constituted the majority of people who signed up to self-deport. If you register for this program and have a criminal history, there's a solid chance you'll be arrested and deported. It's also possible to simply leave the United States without registering via CBP Home. Are People Getting the Promised Plane Tickets and Stipend Money? There's an important question as to whether the U.S. government is successfully following through on its various promises. According to estimates by The Center for Migration Studies, around 200,000 people self-deported in the first year of the program. (Government estimates are much higher, but widely perceived as flawed.) Thus we should have solid information on the results, but it's still partly anecdotal. Some people who've signed up have reportedly gotten U.S. government assistance in paying for a commercial or charter flight home. A hurdle for some, however, is lack of a passport from their home country. This can lead to delays, as they're ineligible to travel until they have a passport in hand. (See the National Immigration Law Center's page on Know Your Rights: CBP Home.) With regard to the exit bonus, many people should have already received their $1,000 or $2,600. Yet reports from attorneys and immigration advocates are that, despite some successes, many have had problems. Bear in mind that you must already be outside of the United States in order to collect. This in itself can create payment complications. The standard money transfer method seems to be by wire to one's bank account, but there's a deadline for collecting such a transfer. Others have reported receiving a prepaid credit card. In at least one case, an immigrant complained that the United States kept him in detention for so long before sending him home that the 30-day acceptance period had passed, and the money was no longer collectible. He felt deceived. Other immigrants find out only after they're in their home country that they weren't eligible for this exit bonus in the first place. What Are the Penalties for Not Self-Deporting? In order to push people into choosing self-deportation, the current administration is requiring unauthorized immigrants to register their presence in the United States and face fines of up to $5,000 if they don't. See Should I Sign Up for Trump’s “Alien Registration” Program?. Of course, this creates its own pipeline to deportation. Thus unauthorized immigrants have an uncomfortable choice: register and face possible imminent deportation and fines, or leave and face barriers upon reentry plus an uncertain prospect of receiving an exit bonus. By the way, this particular fine doesn't seem to be one that the United States will cancel if you self-deport. See an Attorney Before Considering Self-Deportation The above information is only an overview, and can’t take into account the uniqueness of your situation. Before deciding to self-deport, it would be worthwhile to consult with an experienced immigration attorney. You might have legal options you were unaware of, which the attorney can help you follow up on.