The Trump administration’s efforts to convince illegal immigrants in the United States to voluntarily leave the country appear to be working, but a lack of information on the extent of the self-deportations from the government has made it difficult to know the extent of the operation.
“Tens of thousands” of illegal immigrants residing in the United States have used a Department of Homeland Security phone app to get paid to self-deport to their home country, a DHS official told the Washington Examiner.
According to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, 1 million people, including those who used the CBP Home app, have left on their own accord and paid their way home since President Donald Trump returned to office. This feat would signify a major accomplishment for the Trump administration, which promised to deport 1 million people in the first year.
However, details about those departures and exact figures have yet to be shared by the DHS or the White House, sparking criticism and skepticism from some of the lack of transparency, including Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).
“We’ve seen a complete lack of transparency when it comes to immigration from this administration,” Gallego said in a statement to the Washington Examiner when asked about self-deportation figures.
The CBP Home app is born
In March, the DHS rolled out a phone app through its United States Customs and Border Protection agency. The CBP Home app allowed anyone in the U.S. to register with the government and alert CBP of plans to leave the country to avoid being arrested, detained, and later deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“So far, tens of thousands of illegal aliens have used the app to self-deport while preserving the option to return the legal way and live the American dream,” a DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.
However, on Wednesday, White House border czar Tom Homan told reporters outside the White House that the number was much lower than the last time he saw it.
“Last time I looked, it was about 7,000,” Homan said. “That was weeks ago.”
In May, the White House established Project Homecoming, an initiative to educate illegal immigrants that if they did not depart now, they could face severe consequences.
Those who signed up through CBP Home and returned home would receive a complimentary one-way plane ticket, a $1,000 payment, and forgiveness for any fines related to failing to depart on time in the case of overstaying a visa.
Even with the cost of a commercial airline ticket and stipend, the price of self-deportation is cheaper than the estimated average cost of $17,100 that the government pays to deport someone in federal immigration custody.
“After successfully ending the invasion of our country and sealing our southern border, President Trump established the visionary Project Homecoming in May to create a smooth, efficient process for illegal aliens to return home,” the DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
In the few months since then, DHS has maintained that “tens of thousands” of people have chosen to use the government app to leave, but has not provided responses as to the countries, types of immigrants, or number of successful self-deportations through the CBP Home app.
If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest.
DHS is offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App. pic.twitter.com/9GYQn3mGhC
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) May 27, 2025
1 million departures total
A total of 1 million people have self-deported, including the tens of thousands who used the CBP Home app, according to the Trump administration. Homan also touted the 1 million figure during his remarks to reporters on Wednesday.
The DHS told the Washington Examiner that it obtained the 1 million figure through unspecified information that it received from other countries and through other internal government databases, but did not specify what that meant.
The DHS would not clarify what percentage of the 1 million people had already been ordered deported, overstayed a visa, or other means that led to their being illegally present in the U.S.
Adam Isacson, director of defense oversight for the Washington Office on Latin America, said the 1 million figure seemed higher than he believed self-deportations to be, but added that he has observed in his work that people are choosing to leave of their own accord.
“A million sounds super high. I think we would notice that,” said Isacson, whose Washington-based organization advocates for the human rights of migrants across Latin America.
Although the DHS did not provide details or data showing total self-deportations, newly released federal employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicated that roughly 1 million fewer foreign-born workers were working in the U.S., though the chart did not differentiate between legal and illegal immigrants. However, the number of immigrants out of work does not mean they have also left the country.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Skepticism grows
In the spring, the DHS rolled out a multimillion-dollar ad campaign that warned illegal immigrants to leave or be “hunted down” by the government. The flashy mass deportation campaign was intended to persuade many more people to leave without government assistance by making their lives too uncomfortable to remain.
Former immigration judge Andrew Arthur explained in a recent blog post on self-deportation that convincing the illegal immigrant population to depart voluntarily was part of the Trump administration’s plan all along.
“DHS can’t arrest and deport 15.4 million illegal aliens, but if it simply enforces the law, many aliens will get the message and leave on their own, as hundreds of thousands apparently already have,” wrote Arthur, resident fellow in law and policy at the restrictionist Center for Immigration Studies organization in Washington.
The White House has publicly touted the 1 million departures as a win.
“We may be dealing with NEGATIVE NET MIGRATION to the United States in 2025. That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years — we’re talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024,” the White House Rapid Response 47 account posted on X Sunday with a link to a CNN report. “PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!”
“We may be dealing with NEGATIVE NET MIGRATION to the United States in 2025. That would be the first time there is negative net migration in this country in at least 50 years — we’re talking about down from 2.8 million in 2024.”
PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!
pic.twitter.com/r1ORR4A6zD
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 3, 2025
However, the 1 million self-deportations suggest that the large majority of people who have left the U.S. are doing so without accepting a free plane ticket and $1,000 payment from the U.S. government.
Through his work, Isacson was aware of immigrants who self-deported through the CBP Home app and received the promised $1,000 payment. When asked why so many more people would choose to pay their own way rather than opt into a free government program, Isacson suggested “distrust” in the government and a lack of awareness of the app as the top reasons people were paying their own way to go home.
Although the DHS has touted that those who self-deport may be able to return to the U.S. if they do so legally, the American Immigration Council’s senior fellow, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, warned that someone who self-deports and does not have a criminal record would be unable to return to the U.S. through a visa for 10 years.
“Many individuals who leave the United States will never be able to come back in,” Reichlin-Melnick said. “There is no line that they can stand in or pathway that they can enter. The legal immigration system is not an option for them.”
Gallego maintained that the issue stems from backlogged immigration courts and an outdated U.S. immigration system. He said Congress must get fuller information on the Trump administration’s policies to enact reforms.
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“While I applaud the President for halting illegal immigration at the border, we must reform our broken system by delivering long-term solutions. It is hard to get that done when Congress is left in the dark,” Gallego said. “Instead of focusing on flashy stunts, I’m ready to work with my colleagues across the aisle to get real results that will protect American workers, grow our economy, and keep us safe.”
The White House did not respond.
Mabinty Quarshie contributed to this report.