Overview

• An HHS/ORR notice and ICE statement confirm a one-time $2,500 payment for unaccompanied minors who opt for voluntary departure, with funds disbursed only after an immigration judge approves the request and the child arrives home.
• Internal communications reported by AP told shelters that children 14 and older could be eligible, initially focusing on 17-year-olds, and set a 24-hour window for youths to respond with a four-hour acknowledgment from shelter directors.
• Officials say the offer applies to minors in ORR custody and excludes those from Mexico, and HHS data indicate roughly 2,100 children are currently in federal care.
• A federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a temporary restraining order on Oct. 4 preventing ICE from placing unaccompanied minors in adult detention after they turn 18, and prior court action halted rapid repatriations of Guatemalan children.
• Advocates argue the cash offer could pressure children and conflict with protections under U.S. law, while the administration frames it as a voluntary, cost-saving reintegration effort that follows a $1,000 adult incentive and a reported $250 million funding transfer to HHS.