WASHINGTON — In a sweeping reallocation of funds once intended for global refugee assistance, the U.S. State Department has transferred $250 million to the Department of Homeland Security to fund “Project Homecoming,” a Trump administration initiative that pays undocumented immigrants to self-deport.
According to a spokesperson, the money—pulled from the Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA) account—is now being used to “provide a free flight home and an exit bonus to encourage and assist illegal aliens to voluntarily depart the United States.” The DHS program offers a $1,000 stipend for migrants who agree to leave the country and register through the CBP Home mobile app.
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“Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the U.S. and will allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” the DHS said in a public statement.
The MRA fund, which falls under the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, has historically supported humanitarian relief efforts abroad—often in conflict or disaster zones—and assisted with refugee resettlement in the United States. Critics say its use for deportation incentives upends the bureau’s core mission.