Yelitza Perez, a 29-year-old Venezuelan mother of two, wanted to leave the United States on her own terms. Her husband had already been deported to Venezuela earlier this year. She did not want to wait for immigration agents to come for her and her children. So she tried to do the right thing, at least by the Trump administration’s own standards, and leave voluntarily. What followed was weeks of confusion, silence, and a humiliating rejection at the airport gate.
Through the CBP Home app, the government offers undocumented migrants up to $3,000, a free flight home, and forgiveness of certain fines if they agree to leave voluntarily. The Department of Homeland Security has claimed that between 1.9 million and 2.2 million undocumented immigrants have self-deported since January 2025. The program has been promoted heavily.
