How Trump admin plans to use self-deportations to expel illegal immigrants

While visiting the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, Vice President JD Vance gave a hint on how the Trump administration plans on encouraging illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the United States.

After being asked by Blaze Media to discuss the biggest obstacle to carrying out mass deportations, Vance said, "Rome wasn't built in a day" and that officials are working to rebuild interior immigration enforcement that was "gutted" under the Biden-Harris administration.

Vance then gave a little insight into what they are doing to encourage self-deportations.

"There are a couple of other things that we're working on, and I don't want to get ahead of any public announcements, but, you know, one of the ways that we wanted to make sure that we're enforcing our border is that we make it easier for people who are here illegally to go back home of their own accord," Vance said.

Over 1 million people were allowed into the United States in two years through CBP One.

"We don't want to have to go around and arrest every person, but we will enforce the American people's immigration laws. If you're here illegally, the message from our administration is: You should go back home, and if you want to come to the United States, apply through the proper channels. That's an important thing that we're doing," he added.

Lora Ries, director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at the Heritage Foundation, told Blaze Media the federal government has several options to offer illegal aliens through using "a carrot and a stick."

One of the options is communicating to users who are registered through the CBP One app to leave the country to avoid harsh penalties. The CBP One app was used by the Biden-Harris administration to allow illegal immigrants the ability to enter the United States "legally" through a port of entry to avoid the optics of illegal border crossings. Once they entered the country by using the app, the Biden-Harris administration released them through mass parole.

Over 1 million people were allowed into the United States in two years through CBP One. President Donald Trump ended the app's usage in that way on his first day in office.

"Some were saying, 'Shut down CBP One app and eliminate it,' and I thought, 'Hold on, wait a minute.' It's already a tool that exists to communicate with inadmissible aliens; then use it to communicate for other purposes," Ries explained, adding the app can be repurposed to have users submit their information and proof that they have left the United States.

Ries said another way the Trump administration can get people to self-deport is by offering a deadline, and if illegal immigrants are caught after the deadline, then the government can impose heavy fines to pay back some of the funds that were spent to find them.

For his part, Vance promised during the border visit that the new federal government is working on solving the massive issue every day.

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