A Department of Homeland Security official said Tuesday that unaccompanied migrant children are being offered $3,000 to self-deport.
The official told ABC News that minors who are in government custody, are 14 years or older, and have no gang affiliation are eligible for the stipend.
A spokesperson said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin is “leading efforts to rescue these children and stop their exploitation.”
Last year, the Department of Homeland Security offered minors $2,500 to voluntarily leave the country as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
One legal service provider told ABC News that DHS began offering the $3,000 incentive earlier this month. Attorneys and advocates say the tactic comes as the Trump administration increasingly targets unaccompanied children for deportation.
The federal government recently assembled a team of government attorneys to represent migrant children in court after the administration cut ties with a number of immigration advocacy groups that had previously provided those services.
Immigration advocacy groups have raised concerns about the initiative, arguing that the same government seeking to deport the minors under the administration’s immigration crackdown should not be representing them in court.
A DHS spokesperson told ABC News, “Many of the children who came across the border unaccompanied were allowed to be placed with sponsors who were smugglers and sex traffickers.”
“Unlike the previous administration, President Trump and DHS take the responsibility to protect children seriously and will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement to reunite children with their families,” the spokesperson said.
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