President Donald Trump's effort to persuade unauthorized immigrants to voluntarily leave the United States is accelerating, with internal government figures showing the initiative is on track to surpass 200,000 departures as the administration intensifies its immigration enforcement agenda.
Internal Department of Homeland Security data obtained by Axios shows about 132,000 immigrants had left the country through Project Homecoming as of July 16. Another 70,000 people have enrolled and are expected to depart, a pace that would push the program beyond 200,000 voluntary exits.
The initiative has become one of the few incentives offered alongside the administration's aggressive immigration crackdown. Instead of waiting to be arrested and removed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, participants receive government-funded transportation and a cash payment after returning to their home country.
The incentive originally stood at $1,000 but has since increased to $2,600. During last year's Christmas season, the payment briefly reached $3,000.
The Trump administration views the program as an important part of its goal of removing one million unauthorized immigrants annually. White House border czar Tom Homan said in May that encouraging immigrants to leave voluntarily was "part of the plan from the very beginning."
Former acting ICE Director Todd Lyons also previously described the initiative as another way for the agency to boost deportation totals, saying the voluntary departures would help ICE "see our number" on removals.
Project Homecoming launched slowly, helping about 24,000 immigrants leave during its first six months while officials worked through travel documents and transportation logistics. According to Axios, the pace changed after the White House began pressing DHS leaders to significantly increase the number of departures.
"The push was daily calls from the White House and weekly principal level calls [with Deputy White House Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller directly," one source familiar with the effort told Axios. "They wanted like thousands pushed through on a daily basis, and we were putting through like dozens."
The initiative received another boost after Project Homecoming staff began working directly inside ICE detention centers. Axios reported that a staff member from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, helped integrate case managers into detention facilities to speed up voluntary departures and reduce the time migrants spent in custody.
Case managers are now stationed in 40 ICE detention centers, and roughly half of all Project Homecoming participants have enrolled while detained.
According to ICE data cited by Axios, immigrants who choose the program now spend an average of 17 days in detention before leaving the country, compared with about 50 days under the traditional deportation process.
Todd Bensman, a former adviser to Homan, said the shorter detention period has also helped address one of the administration's biggest logistical challenges.
"You can't do mass deportation unless you have beds," Bensman told Axios. "They're inextricably tied."
Another source familiar with the initiative said simply offering detainees the opportunity to return home voluntarily dramatically changed participation levels.
"For the first time, someone walks in and goes, 'Hey, who here just wants to go home?' And everybody's like, 'I want to go home,'" the source said. "It's an immediate jump."
DHS argues the initiative is also producing substantial savings. The agency estimates each self-deportation costs about $2,500, excluding the participant's stipend, compared with roughly $18,245 for a traditional deportation.
"Thanks to the overwhelming success of Project Homecoming under President Trump, the CBP Home app has achieved far greater efficiency and participation than originally anticipated," a DHS spokesperson told Axios, adding the department projects approximately $2.5 billion in savings on removal costs because of the program.
Salus, the contractor managing Project Homecoming, defended the initiative as well.
"We are proud of the humane and dignified support that it has provided," a company spokesperson told Axios. "We are committed to continuing to deliver for this valuable program."
The program has also drawn criticism. Some immigration advocates argue migrants would receive better support after returning home through organizations such as the International Organization for Migration, which initially participated in the initiative before ending its involvement.
"All of a sudden the whole program got reduced to a spreadsheet to buy plane tickets," one source familiar with Project Homecoming told Axios, arguing the focus shifted away from helping migrants rebuild their lives after leaving the United States.
Project Homecoming's current federal contract is expected to run out of funding at the end of August. DHS is seeking bids for a replacement contract but has not said whether the transition could temporarily interrupt one of the fastest-growing components of the Trump administration's immigration strategy.
