Going home for the holidays has a different meaning for illegal immigrants, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that illegal immigrants who self-deport can get a $3,000 stipend, according to a news release on the website that encouraged illegal immigrants to use the CBP Home app by the end of the year.
The release noted that self-deporting through the app “qualifies recipients for forgiveness of any civil fines or penalties for failing to depart the country.”
In the release, Noem noted, “Since January 2025, 1.9 million illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported and tens of thousands have used the CBP Home program.
“During the Christmas Season, the U.S. taxpayer is so generously TRIPLING the incentive to leave voluntarily for those in this country illegally- offering a $3,000 exit bonus, but just until the end of the year,” she said.
“Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return,” she said.
The release noted that the Christmas spirit only goes so far.
“Illegal aliens who don’t take advantage of this special offer today have only one alternative: They will be arrested, deported, and they will never be able to return to the United States,” the release said.
“If you voluntarily want to go home now to your country if you’re in this United States of America illegally, we’ll give you $3,000 through the holidays, we’ll send you home,” Noem said in a video posted to X.
“We’ll buy you a ticket, give you $3,000 to go home. That includes people that have not been detained, or maybe have interacted with us, are detained and don’t have criminal charges against them,” she said.
EXCLUSIVE: @Sec_Noem announces DHS will give illegal migrants a $3,000 holiday stipend if they self-deport by December 31. pic.twitter.com/RxDwhJsTW1
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) December 22, 2025
“Raise your hand, we’ll help you get home,” she said. “We’ll facilitate it, and you might get the chance to come back to this country the right way someday.”
She noted that illegal immigrants who are arrested “never get the chance to come back.”
As noted by the New York Post, in May, DHS began offering a $1,000 stipend to illegal immigrants who voluntarily self-deported.
In her video message, Noem made a reference to finding children. According to a DHS news release, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has launched a partnership with state and local law enforcement to determine the status of 450,000 unaccompanied children who crossed the border during the Biden administration.
“Too many of these children were exploited, trafficked and abused. We will continue to ramp up efforts and will not stop until every last child is found,” she wrote.
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