Donald Trump | Image: The White House/X
The Trump administration is reportedly offering a financial incentive of $2,500 for unaccompanied migrant children to leave the United States voluntarily. This information comes from a letter obtained by Reuters, which was sent to various migrant shelters across the country.
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that a financial offer is indeed being extended, although they did not disclose the specific amount involved.
This initiative marks the latest effort from the DHS under President Donald Trump to promote voluntary deportations. Earlier in June, the State Department allocated $250 million to the DHS specifically for the purpose of facilitating voluntary deportations, previously offering a stipend of $1,000 to migrants who chose to return to their home countries.
CRITICISM ON COERCIVE TACTICS FOR CHILDREN
According to the letter dispatched to shelters by the DHS Office of Refugee Resettlement on Friday, unaccompanied minors aged 14 and above will be eligible for a one-time resettlement support payment of $2,500.
An official from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that the offer is initially aimed at 17-year-olds.
However, minors from Mexico are excluded from this program. The letter clarified that children who had already opted to leave the U.S. as of Friday would still be eligible for the financial assistance.
Wendy Young, the president of Kids in Need of Defense, an organization that provides legal support to unaccompanied minors, condemned the initiative as “a cruel tactic.” She argued that it undermines existing laws designed to assess whether a child qualifies for protection in the U.S.
“Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States are entitled to our protection, not to coercive tactics that force them to return to the very circumstances that jeopardized their lives,” Young stated in a public comment.
Under federal regulations, children arriving at U.S. borders without a parent or legal guardian are classified as unaccompanied. They are typically placed in government-run shelters until they can be reunited with family members or placed into foster care.
As of Thursday, more than 2,100 unaccompanied minors were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), according to recent data released by the agency.
Andrew Nixon, the HHS communications director, stated that the program “provides unaccompanied children a choice and empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their future.”
Any financial assistance will be disbursed only after an immigration judge approves the child’s request and they have safely returned to their country of origin, Nixon added.
The administration’s strategies aimed at accelerating the deportation of unaccompanied minors have faced significant legal hurdles.
Just last month, a federal judge issued a ruling preventing the administration from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant minors with pending immigration cases while legal challenges remain unresolved.
Since 2019, over 600,000 migrant children have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border unaccompanied, according to government statistics, highlighting an ongoing crisis that has drawn national attention.
