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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Trump administration prepares to offer money to unaccompanied migrant
teenagers to voluntarily leave US
By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN
Updated:
3:12 PM EDT, Fri October 3, 2025
Source: CNN
The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to offer unaccompanied
migrant teenagers in the United States the option to voluntarily leave
the country and receive a $2,500 payment, according to three sources
familiar with the plans and an administration memo obtained by CNN.
The Trump administration has already been offering financial incentives
— — to undocumented adult immigrants in the US to depart the
country. Administration officials have argued that self-deportation
incentives are more cost effective, given the high price tag of
immigrant detention and deportation.
A notice sent to legal service providers Friday by the Department of
Health and Human Services, seen by CNN, said the administration “will
provide a one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500 U.S. Dollars
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,” adding that the “benefit is intended to
support reintegration efforts following departure.”
The voluntary option is expected to first be offered to 17-year-old
migrants and would need to be approved by an immigration judge. The
payment would be given once the migrants arrive in their home country.
CNN reached out to HHS, which is charged with caring for unaccompanied
migrant children. HHS referred questions to the Department of Homeland
Security.
“ICE and the Office of Refugee and Resettlement at HHS are offering a
strictly voluntary option to return home to their families. This
voluntary option gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an
informed decision about their future,” an Immigration and Customs
Enforcement spokesperson said in a statement to CNN, referring to
unaccompanied migrant children.
“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. Access to financial support when returning
home would assist should they choose that option,” the spokesperson
added.
Trump administration officials have increasingly focused on migrant
children who arrived in the US southern border alone and are awaiting
to be placed with a sponsor, typically a parent or relative, in the
United States. As of October 2, in HHS custody.
The latest move appears to be an extension of ongoing efforts to
repatriate migrant children in custody. In late August, the Trump
administration to be sent back to their home country — a move that
was by a federal judge. Declarations from some parents of the children
in Guatemala revealed that they were unaware their child was being
deported and raised concern over their safety if returned. That case is
ongoing.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which has been
in place for more than two decades, provides protections for
unaccompanied migrant children who arrive and reside in the US,
including being screened to see if they are victims of human
trafficking or have a credible fear of persecution in their home
country.
Generally, kids in custody are not affirmatively offered the option to
leave voluntarily, and those who request it must have it approved by an
immigration judge. ICE said kids, in this case, will also go before an
immigration judge, who are there to ensure the child knows what it
means, are making the choice of their own free will, and aren’t being
put in harm’s way.
“Voluntary departure has always been an option for unaccompanied
children and when this option is explained by an attorney who has the
child’s best interest in mind, the risks and benefits can be fully
explored. There is no legitimate reason for the government to
affirmatively provide children with this option and incentivize it with
a financial payoff,” said Neha Desai, managing director of
Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth
Law, in a statement.
Earlier this year, the administration to rapidly deport some migrant
children who arrived in the US without a parent or guardian by having
federal agents ask teens whether they want to voluntarily depart the
country.
The directive marked a departure from long-standing protocol which
required that federal authorities turn over most unaccompanied children
to HHS. Federal authorities previously didn’t ask unaccompanied kids
from countries other than Mexico and Canada if they wanted to self
deport.
The efforts to repatriate migrant children who are in immigration
proceedings to determine whether they have protections in the US have
sparked alarm among immigrant advocates and attorneys.
While immigrant advocates maintain that child safety should be a
priority, particularly when dealing with vulnerable migrant children,
they argue that the Trump administration’s policies risk doing more
harm than good if they result in kids being sent back to dangerous
conditions.
The administration has also implemented additional vetting checks and
other protocols prior to releasing a child from custody that have
prolonged their stays in shelters.
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