In a striking departure from the Biden-era approach to immigration, the Trump administration is now reportedly seeing early success in a renewed effort to restore order at the southern border — not by opening the gates, but by persuading illegal immigrants to walk back out of them.
According to a new report from Breitbart News, tens of thousands of illegal aliens have voluntarily self-deported since President Donald Trump returned to office and began revamping key enforcement tools and messaging.
The shift includes a major overhaul of the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) One app — a system originally designed under the Biden administration to expedite mass asylum processing.
Under Trump, that app has been retooled into a digital exit ramp, now allowing illegal immigrants to formally notify the government of their intent to leave.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed the uptick in voluntary departures. While critics on the left may scoff, immigration analysts say the change marks a critical milestone in the broader campaign to enforce immigration law without relying exclusively on detention and deportation.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which estimates that more than 18.6 million illegal aliens currently reside in the U.S., has praised the approach as a rational way to address a ballooning crisis. “As of 2025, American population growth comes almost entirely from unsustainably high levels of immigration, both legal and illegal,” the organization noted.
In an added incentive, the administration is now offering illegal immigrants $1,000 to self-deport, alongside a warning that failure to do so could result in daily fines of nearly the same amount.
Critics might label the tactic coercive, but supporters argue it represents long-overdue accountability for those who have flouted U.S. law.
The messaging campaign goes even further. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem recently launched a public awareness campaign urging illegal aliens to “do what’s right: leave now.”
The campaign features images of violent criminal aliens, including a previously deported MS-13 gang member reapprehended in the infamous Colony Ridge development.
In coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the DHS also published a user-friendly online guide titled “How to Self-Deport.” The instructions make it clear that illegal immigrants need not report to an ICE facility to leave. “You can plan and organize your affairs,” the guide says. “If ICE officials arrest you, there’s no going back.”
The site also warns about the legal consequences of remaining in the country unlawfully. “Removal comes with other consequences, too, including bars to reentry,” ICE notes. “Bars to reentry are penalties for violating U.S. immigration law.”
While opponents continue to call for mass amnesty, the Trump administration appears to be achieving meaningful immigration enforcement — not through mass raids or show trials, but by reasserting law and order and giving violators a way to leave with dignity.
