More than 200,000 migrants have signed up for a US government scheme that offers cash incentives for voluntary departure, according to a report. The programme, known as Project Homecoming, provides up to $3,000 per person, with about half of participants leaving while held in detention centres.
The initiative, launched by the Department of Homeland Security in May 2025, initially attracted only about 24,000 sign-ups in its first six months. However, White House officials, including deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, pressed for a faster rollout, an unidentified source told Axios. “They wanted like thousands pushed through on a daily basis, and we were putting through like dozens,” the source said.
In August, a staffer with the since-dissolved Department of Government Accountability, formerly headed by Elon Musk, began bringing Project Homecoming case managers into migrant detention centres. The cash incentive was later increased from $1,000 to $2,600 in late January, after a temporary rise to $3,000 for a 10-day period in December that included Christmas. Participants also receive free airline flights.
Axios reported that 132,000 people have left the US through the programme, with a further 70,000 awaiting departure. These figures mark an 180 percent increase over the 72,000 self-deportations reported in March by CNN, which cited an internal DHS document. The administration has set an internal goal of expelling 1 million undocumented immigrants annually.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not deny the report, telling The Independent: “Anyone in the country illegally should self-deport. Otherwise, they will be deported.” The Migration Policy Institute, however, noted that pay-to-go programmes have historically had limited success, citing a comparable 2008 US scheme that “drew just eight participants.” Institute spokesperson Michelle Middlestadt said the lack of detailed reporting on Project Homecoming made it difficult to assess the latest figures.
