Why the US wants undocumented immigrants to ‘self-deport’

A part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, self-deportation is pegged by US authorities as the safest option for undocumented immigrants, one that allows them to exit the country voluntarily without facing legal action.

What is the self-deport feature?

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday re-launched the CBP Home App — it was originally launched as the CBP One App in 2020, whose functionality was expanded in 2023, but taken offline by the Trump administration soon after he was sworn in — with a new self-deportation reporting feature.

This allows those living illegally in the US to officially submit “their intent to depart”, and then leave the country voluntarily, without facing legal action. Authorities will track the departure, with users also required to upload information to verify their exit.

This is a part of a larger $200 million “Stay Out and Leave Now” campaign of the Trump administration. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says in an advertisement for the campaign: “President Trump has a clear message: if you are here illegally, we will find you and deport you. You will never return. But if you leave now, you may have an opportunity to return and enjoy our freedom and live the American Dream”.

The self-deportation feature allows individuals to do just that.

Why was the feature introduced?

With ads beaming across media platforms, warning undocumented individuals living in the US to voluntarily leave to avoid stricter action, the feature is meant to give people an easy out. This would also save millions of dollars of US taxpayers’ money, which would otherwise go into holding individuals in detention and then deporting them.

Over the last seven weeks since Trump entered the White House, several military planes have been sent all over the world — including three to India — to deport those staying in the US without necessary documentation. Sending shackled deportees on military planes and chartered flights was a statement of Trump’s intent.

The app now gives undocumented immigrants an alternative to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to land at their doorstep.

“Not only is it safer, but it also saves US taxpayer dollars and valuable CBP and ICE resources to focus on dangerous criminal aliens,” the DHS release says.

What are the concerns with this feature?

In 2023, the Joe Biden administration had launched a similar self-reporting feature on the CBP One App, although that was primarily meant for those seeking asylum to register themselves and schedule appointments with the CBP at certain ports of entry into the US, said Sukanya Raman, Country Head at Davies & Associates, a global immigration-focussed law firm.

The CBP One app allowed non-citizens without appropriate documents to upload relevant information on the app, thus streamlining their application for entry into the US. It may reduce wait times, and permits a safe and orderly process at POEs for all travellers, the CBP website said.

Between January 2023, when CBP One introduced the feature, till the end of December 2024, more than 936,500 individuals had successfully scheduled appointments with immigration officials at ports of entry instead of risking their lives in the hands of smugglers.

As with the older version of the app, Raman says that individuals are concerned about the fact that using this feature may open them up to more investigation or questioning, or more tracking, since they have to upload a lot of details and documentation.