U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) used Valentine’s Day to give fresh visibility to its year-old voluntary departure initiative, posting a light-hearted social-media video that urged undocumented migrants to “self-deport today and spend the holiday with the one you love.” The clip—set to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling in Love”—paired heart-shaped graphics with footage of migrants boarding flights arranged through the government’s CBP Home smartphone app, while on-screen text promised a cash stipend of US $2,600 and a free one-way ticket home. The post quickly garnered hundreds of thousands of views and sharp criticism from immigrant-rights groups, who called the tone “cruel and tone-deaf.” (nypost.com)
The campaign highlights how aggressively the Trump administration is marketing the CBP Home program, which was rolled out nationwide in January 2025 as a digital tool to fulfill statutory biometric-exit requirements while reducing detention costs. According to DHS statistics, more than 2.2 million people have used CBP Home to arrange departure since launch, saving the agency an estimated US $1.4 billion in detention and removal expenses. Employers with undocumented workers have also begun using the app’s QR-code feature to document an employee’s departure in I-9 audit files.
Companies and individuals weighing any cross-border move—whether voluntary departure or a fresh visa application—can tap resources such as VisaHQ, which provides streamlined U.S. and global visa processing, document checklists, and real-time status tracking for travelers and HR teams alike (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/).
![CBP’s Valentine’s Day pitch: Self-deport now and get a $2,600 ‘exit-bonus’]()
Critics argue the Valentine’s Day message trivializes life-changing decisions and glosses over risks that migrants may face upon return. Several Democratic lawmakers said they will press CBP Commissioner Troy Miller for data on how many users receive the promised stipend and how the agency verifies departure. Business-immigration counsel warn that overstays who leave via CBP Home still trigger three- and ten-year re-entry bars unless they obtain a waiver.
For global-mobility managers, the episode is a reminder to audit vendor workforces and ensure no contractors are tempted to use the app without first consulting counsel. Companies employing DACA recipients, TPS beneficiaries or workers with pending adjustment applications should reinforce that “voluntary departure” permanently terminates those benefits.
In the near term, immigration-policy observers expect CBP Home marketing to intensify. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem last month raised the exit bonus from US $1,000 to US $2,600 through March 31, citing “strong uptake." With Congress deadlocked over funding a growing backlog of immigration-court cases, incentivizing self-deportation has become a pillar of the administration’s enforcement-cost strategy.
The campaign highlights how aggressively the Trump administration is marketing the CBP Home program, which was rolled out nationwide in January 2025 as a digital tool to fulfill statutory biometric-exit requirements while reducing detention costs. According to DHS statistics, more than 2.2 million people have used CBP Home to arrange departure since launch, saving the agency an estimated US $1.4 billion in detention and removal expenses. Employers with undocumented workers have also begun using the app’s QR-code feature to document an employee’s departure in I-9 audit files.
Companies and individuals weighing any cross-border move—whether voluntary departure or a fresh visa application—can tap resources such as VisaHQ, which provides streamlined U.S. and global visa processing, document checklists, and real-time status tracking for travelers and HR teams alike (https://www.visahq.com/united-states/).
Critics argue the Valentine’s Day message trivializes life-changing decisions and glosses over risks that migrants may face upon return. Several Democratic lawmakers said they will press CBP Commissioner Troy Miller for data on how many users receive the promised stipend and how the agency verifies departure. Business-immigration counsel warn that overstays who leave via CBP Home still trigger three- and ten-year re-entry bars unless they obtain a waiver.
For global-mobility managers, the episode is a reminder to audit vendor workforces and ensure no contractors are tempted to use the app without first consulting counsel. Companies employing DACA recipients, TPS beneficiaries or workers with pending adjustment applications should reinforce that “voluntary departure” permanently terminates those benefits.
In the near term, immigration-policy observers expect CBP Home marketing to intensify. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem last month raised the exit bonus from US $1,000 to US $2,600 through March 31, citing “strong uptake." With Congress deadlocked over funding a growing backlog of immigration-court cases, incentivizing self-deportation has become a pillar of the administration’s enforcement-cost strategy.
