How Donald Trump rebranded self-deportation he once called 'mean'

Donald Trump’s immigration strategy places self-deportation at the centre of it. Migrants in the US illegally are being urged to leave voluntarily and are being promised a legal pathway back if they cooperate.
Speaking to Fox Noticias on Tuesday, Trump said his plan involves offering plane tickets and cash stipends to encourage self-deportation. “We’re going to give them a stipend,” said Trump. “We’re going to give them some money and a plane ticket, and then we’re going to work with them... If they’re good, if we want them back in, we’re going to work with them to get them back in as quickly as we can.”
A rebranded app
The self-deportation policy relies on an updated CBP One app, now called CBP Home. Migrants can use the app to report their intention to leave. Homeland Security says many people have already done so. Those who don’t comply risk being permanently banned from re-entry, fined up to $5,000, and pursued by ICE.

According to NPR news, between January 2023 and December 2024, nearly 936,500 people used the app under the Biden-era system to seek asylum. That digital infrastructure is now being used in reverse.
No longer “mean-spirited”
Ironically, Trump once criticised Mitt Romney’s 2012 self-deportation proposal as “maniacal” and “mean-spirited.” But the politics have changed. Now, Trump is embracing the concept with an advertising blitz that includes Spanish-language messaging and videos featuring Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem warning migrants of a “now or never” choice.
“If you leave now, you may return,” Noem says. “If you don’t, we will find you — and you’ll never come back.”
The carrot and the stick
This dual messaging strategy — one part compassionate, one part coercive — is a key evolution. Migrants face fines of up to $998 per day for overstaying after receiving removal orders. At the same time, the administration is pitching self-deportation as a “dignified” exit with a possibility of future return.