The Trump administration said Friday it would offer to pay migrant children to self deport in its latest mass deportation effort.
The Health and Human Services Department’s Administration for Children and Families emailed migrant shelters saying children 14 years of age and older would get $2,500 each, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press.
The Trump administration offered to “provide a one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500 … to unaccompanied alien children, 14 years of age and older, who have elected to voluntarily depart the United States as of the date of this notice and moving forward,” adding that the “benefit is intended to support reintegration efforts following departure,” according to CNN, who also reviewed a copy of the correspondence.
Children were given 24 hours to respond without penalty for declining to return to their home country, per the AP.
Shelter directors, however, were asked to acknowledge the offer within four hours.
“This voluntary option gives UACs [unaccompanied alien children] a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future,” Emily Covington, the assistant director from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Public Affairs said in a statement to The Hill.
“Any payment to support a return home would be provided after an immigration judge grants the request and the individual arrives in their country of origin. Access to financial support when returning home would assist should they choose that option,” she added.
Officials from ICE said the opportunity is first being offered to 17-year-olds. It follows a May offer from the Trump administration to allow adult migrants to self-deport using a government app in exchange for a $1,000 payment.
However, migrant advocates say the offer unfairly targets minors who are unable to weigh the permanent consequences of self removal.
“Voluntary departure has always been an option for unaccompanied children and when this option is explained by an attorney who has the child’s best interest in mind, the risks and benefits can be fully explored,” Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law, said in a statement to CNN.
“There is no legitimate reason for the government to affirmatively provide children with this option and incentivize it with a financial payoff,” Desai added.
Migrant children have faced increased uncertainty in recent months as the Trump administration attempted to revoke funding for legal aid to unaccompanied children provided by the Department of Health and Human Services.
A judge ultimately blocked the stop-work order aimed at ceasing funding for migrant youth in an effort to protect individuals under the age of 18 as outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008.
“Children who arrive in the U.S. unaccompanied by parents or legal guardians have often survived targeted violence, abuse, persecution, or trafficking. Legal providers working with these children provide a critical safeguard in protecting them from further harm or exploitation,” the Acacia Center for Justice said in a statement.
“Particularly at a time when the administration is expediting removal proceedings that force people through our nation’s deportation system at an alarming rate, legal services for vulnerable children are more crucial than ever.”