Trump administration prepares to offer money to unaccompanied migrant teenagers to voluntarily leave US

By Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to offer unaccompanied migrant teenagers in the United States the option to voluntarily leave the country and receive a $2,500 payment, according to three sources familiar with the plans and an administration memo obtained by CNN.

The Trump administration has already been offering financial incentives — including a $1,000 exit bonus — to undocumented adult immigrants in the US to depart the country. Administration officials have argued that self-deportation incentives are more cost effective, given the high price tag of immigrant detention and deportation.

A notice sent to legal service providers Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services, seen by CNN, said the administration “will provide a one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500 U.S. Dollars 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.”

The voluntary option is expected to first be offered to 17-year-old migrants and would need to be approved by an immigration judge. The payment would be given once the migrants arrive in their home country.

CNN reached out to HHS, which is charged with caring for unaccompanied migrant children. HHS referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security.

“ICE and the Office of Refugee and Resettlement at HHS are offering a strictly voluntary option to return home to their families. This voluntary option gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future,” an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said in a statement to CNN, referring to unaccompanied migrant children.

“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,” the spokesperson added.

Trump administration officials have increasingly focused on migrant children who arrived in the US southern border alone and are awaiting to be placed with a sponsor, typically a parent or relative, in the United States. As of October 2, there were around 2,100 kids in HHS custody.

The latest move appears to be an extension of ongoing efforts to repatriate migrant children in custody. In late August, the Trump administration prepared dozens of Guatemalan children to be sent back to their home country — a move that was temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Declarations from some parents of the children in Guatemala revealed that they were unaware their child was being deported and raised concern over their safety if returned. That case is ongoing.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which has been in place for more than two decades, provides protections for unaccompanied migrant children who arrive and reside in the US, including being screened to see if they are victims of human trafficking or have a credible fear of persecution in their home country.

Generally, kids in custody are not affirmatively offered the option to leave voluntarily, and those who request it must have it approved by an immigration judge. ICE said kids, in this case, will also go before an immigration judge, who are there to ensure the child knows what it means, are making the choice of their own free will, and aren’t being put in harm’s way.

“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. There is no legitimate reason for the government to affirmatively provide children with this option and incentivize it with a financial payoff,” said Neha Desai, managing director of Children’s Human Rights & Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law, in a statement.

Earlier this year, the administration separately moved to rapidly deport some migrant children who arrived in the US without a parent or guardian by having federal agents ask teens whether they want to voluntarily depart the country.

The directive marked a departure from long-standing protocol which required that federal authorities turn over most unaccompanied children to HHS. Federal authorities previously didn’t ask unaccompanied kids from countries other than Mexico and Canada if they wanted to self deport.

The efforts to repatriate migrant children who are in immigration proceedings to determine whether they have protections in the US have sparked alarm among immigrant advocates and attorneys.

While immigrant advocates maintain that child safety should be a priority, particularly when dealing with vulnerable migrant children, they argue that the Trump administration’s policies risk doing more harm than good if they result in kids being sent back to dangerous conditions.

The administration has also implemented additional vetting checks and other protocols prior to releasing a child from custody that have prolonged their stays in shelters.

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