Donald Trump has presented an unusual proposal for immigrants residing in the United States.
It is well-known that Trump has been enforcing strict immigration policies in the US. Just last month, he announced his intention to withdraw the legal status of over 500,000 immigrants.
The Biden administration previously introduced humanitarian parole, allowing migrants and their immediate families to enter the US if they had American sponsors, granting them a two-year temporary immigration status known as parole.
The initiative targeted citizens from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela who aimed to move to the United States. Initially, their temporary legal status was to be terminated on April 24. However, a judge has intervened, mandating that the cessation of parole be reviewed individually.
Following the judge’s recent decision, Trump is now proposing to offer a cash reward and plane tickets to immigrants who choose to ‘self-deport’.
The president, known for his campaign promise to carry out mass deportations, mentioned in a recorded interview with Fox Noticias aired on Tuesday that his administration is prioritizing the removal of ‘murderers’ from the country.
For those residing illegally in the US, he stated plans to introduce ‘a self-deportation programme’. Details regarding the initiative, such as its timeline, were sparse, but Trump mentioned that the US would assist immigrants with air fare and a stipend.
“We’re going to give them a stipend. 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,” he said.
In an interview with Fox Noticias, Rachel Campos-Duffy, who is married to transportation secretary Sean Duffy, shared a story about a Mexican man who allegedly entered the US illegally over 20 years ago and now has American children.
It remains uncertain if the man now has legal status in the country, but Campos-Duffy reported that he claimed he would support Trump, despite being unable to vote.
She played a clip of the man expressing agreement with the notion that those who commit crimes should be returned to their home countries — himself included.
“I look at this man. I say, this is a guy that we want to keep,” Trump responded. “I’ll probably take heat for saying it.”