The claim is that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) offered a $3,000 stipend and a free flight home to people in the
U.S. without legal status who signed up to self‑deport via the CBP Home app by year‑end 2025. The relevant timeline is late December 2025, with the offer running through December 31, 2025, and this follow‑up occurs in mid‑January 2026, after the offer window closed.
An official DHS press release dated December 22, 2025 explicitly states that “those in the U.S. illegally will receive the $3K stipend and a free flight home if they sign up to self-deport through the CBP Home app by the end of the year,” and confirms the program is active through year’s end. The release also notes that using the CBP Home app qualifies participants for forgiveness of certain civil fines or penalties for failing to depart.
Major outlets independently reported the same offer and framed it as a live policy, not a proposal. USA Today on December 22, 2025 reported that DHS was “tripling its payments” to $3,000 per person for undocumented immigrants who deport themselves for the holidays, via the CBP Home app, with free travel and fines waived for those who depart by December 31.
CBS News likewise described DHS as having “tripled its ‘exit bonus’ for undocumented migrants who voluntarily depart” to $3,000 for those who register with the government and leave by the end of 2025 using the rebranded CBP Home app, with the stipend paid after the government confirms departure. The Haitian Times reported the same $3,000 stipend and free airfare terms, characterizing it as a temporary increase from the usual $1,000 benefit available through CBP Home.
Background materials from earlier in 2025 show that DHS had already launched a self‑deportation stipend program via the CBP Home app, initially at $1,000 plus travel assistance, so the December 2025 move clearly functioned as an increase in an existing program rather than a hypothetical future scheme. DHS and media reports also cite internal figures that “since January 2025, 1.9 million” undocumented immigrants had voluntarily self‑deported, with “tens of thousands” using CBP Home, suggesting the offer was integrated into real operations.
No credible evidence indicates that the year‑end $3,000 stipend and free‑flight offer was blocked by courts, rescinded before December 31, or otherwise not made available as described during that window. Criticism has focused instead on the ethics and humanitarian implications of incentivizing returns to dangerous conditions, not on whether the offer existed.
Taken together, the official DHS release and multiple independent, reputable reports show that by late December 2025 DHS was in fact offering a $3,000 stipend plus a free flight home, contingent on self‑deportation via the CBP Home app by year‑end. Under a reasonable reading, the claim that “DHS offers” this package is therefore fulfilled.
Key evidence:
- Official DHS press release (Dec. 22, 2025) describing the $3,000 stipend, free flight, fines waiver, and CBP Home app requirement through Dec. 31, 2025.
- USA Today report (Dec. 22, 2025) confirming DHS is tripling the self‑deportation payment to $3,000 plus free travel, via CBP Home, through year‑end.
- CBS News report (Dec. 22, 2025) detailing the $3,000 “exit bonus,” free airfare, and post‑departure payment conditions via CBP Home.
- Haitian Times report (Dec. 23, 2025) confirming the $3,000 stipend, free airfare, fines waiver, and that it is a temporary holiday increase over the standard $1,000 benefit.
- DHS May 5, 2025 press release and Reuters coverage establishing the underlying CBP Home self‑deportation stipend program at $1,000 plus travel, showing the December offer was a real, increased incentive tier.
- CBP Home app documentation and quick‑reference guide showing DHS’s infrastructure for app‑based voluntary departure reporting and processing.