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1h ago

U.S. Will Offer $2,500 to Some Unaccompanied Migrant Children Who Opt for Voluntary Return

The new HHS/DHS initiative targets teens in federal custody 14 and older, starting with 17-year-olds, with funds released only after an immigration judge approves departure and the child arrives home.

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Migrant children spend time in a recreation area outside Casa Presidente, an immigrant shelter for unaccompanied minors, in Brownsville, Texas, U.S., June 23, 2018. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement vehicle is parked outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025, in Broadview, Ill. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Overview

  • A notice to legal service providers and shelters on Friday outlined a one-time resettlement stipend for unaccompanied children in Office of Refugee Resettlement care, excluding minors from Mexico.
  • Immigration and Customs Enforcement describes the offer as strictly voluntary and framed as giving youths a choice about reuniting with family in their home countries.
  • Child-welfare and legal advocates warn the cash incentive could pressure vulnerable teens to abandon asylum or trafficking claims and bypass protections guaranteed under federal law.
  • The move extends earlier self-deportation efforts that offered adults $1,000 and followed a June transfer of $250 million to DHS to support voluntary removals.
  • The rollout follows recent court pushback on rapid removals of unaccompanied minors, including a judge temporarily blocking deportations of Guatemalan children, with roughly 2,000 to 2,100 minors currently in HHS custody.