ICE Warns on Self-Deportation for Illegal Immigrants via CBP Home App

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued a new warning aimed at undocumented immigrants in the United States, urging many of them to consider Self-Deportation through a new app-based system rather than wait for arrest and formal removal. The guidance, released as a fact sheet, highlights the use of the CBP Home mobile app and frames voluntary departure as a “good option” for people who are in the country unlawfully but do not yet have a criminal record or an existing removal order.

The announcement marks a clear push by the Trump administration to expand removals by encouraging people to leave on their own. ICE stresses that those who are unlawfully present, whether they arrived a few hours ago or have lived in the country for decades, can fall under this Self-Deportation framework. The message is blunt: leave now on your own terms, or risk being found, detained, and formally removed later with tougher consequences for any future return.

Definition and scope of “Self-Deportation”

In the fact sheet, ICE defines Self-Deportation as leaving the United States voluntarily on one’s own initiative while being in the country illegally. The agency makes no distinction based on how long someone has been here without status.

• A person who crossed recently and a person who overstayed a visa many years ago are treated the same if they choose to depart through this process.
• The focus is on getting people to go home without forcing ICE to run a full arrest, detention, and removal case.

How the CBP Home app is used

To carry out Self-Deportation under this new guidance, ICE directs people to the CBP Home mobile app, developed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The process is presented as app-based and remote, rather than in-person at an office or port of entry.

ICE says undocumented immigrants can begin the process from their phones, wherever they are in the country, instead of waiting to be picked up in a worksite raid, a home arrest, or after a traffic stop.

Steps described in the fact sheet

The fact sheet lists the Self-Deportation steps through CBP Home as follows:

1. Download the CBP Home mobile app
2. Select your preferred language
3. Fill out the requested personal information and submit a current self-photo
4. Add any family members who will depart with you, if that applies
5. Submit everything through the app to CBP Home

Once that information is submitted, ICE says the person is effectively stepping forward and choosing to depart voluntarily. While the fact sheet does not describe in detail what happens after submission, it makes clear that this path is meant to avoid the harsher outcomes linked to forced removal.

The agency presents this app-driven process as a streamlined way to register, prepare to leave, and then depart without being held in long-term detention.

Warnings for those who do not self-report

Alongside the new process, ICE adds a strong warning for those who decide not to come forward. The agency states that if people who are unlawfully present choose not to self-report and Self-Deport, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will “eventually” locate them.

• Such people may be detained for long periods in ICE facilities while their cases move through immigration courts.
• Detention can end with a formal removal order.
• A removal order often carries a bar on future reentry to the United States, even for short visits as a tourist or for family emergencies.

By contrast, the Self-Deportation model through CBP Home is presented as a way to reduce or avoid those long-term penalties. The fact sheet does not promise any specific status benefit or legal forgiveness, but it strongly suggests that choosing to leave now could be less damaging than being removed later under an enforcement action.

According to analysis by VisaVerge.com, this approach fits with other administration efforts to steer undocumented immigrants into “voluntary” departure tracks while tightening penalties for those who stay.

Broader context and prior initiatives

The new warning comes as part of a wider Trump administration strategy to increase departures through voluntary departure programs and financial tools.

• Earlier campaigns, including a 2025 initiative branded “Project Homecoming,” used financial incentives and tougher fines linked to unlawful presence to push people toward leaving.
• The new CBP Home-based Self-Deportation push builds on that line of thinking, adding a technology layer that makes it easier for the government to process large numbers of voluntary leavers at lower cost.

Officials have also extended this voluntary framing to highly sensitive groups. The administration has applied similar Self-Deportation options to unaccompanied minors, giving them what is described as a “voluntary” choice to go back to their home countries.

• Immigration advocates have sharply criticized that approach.
• They argue that offering Self-Deportation to children who may have legal protections or asylum claims is coercive and may violate U.S. and international law.
• Advocates say children, in particular, may feel forced to accept removal without fully knowing their rights or the dangers they might face back home.

Arguments from supporters and critics

Supporters inside the administration argue:

• Encouraging Self-Deportation reduces the burden on detention centers and immigration courts.
• Shifting more people into voluntary departure tracks cuts costs and allows ICE to focus detention resources on those with criminal records or repeat immigration violations.
• The fact sheet echoes this idea by describing Self-Deportation as a way to lower detention and removal expenses while increasing pressure on those who refuse to leave.

Critics respond that:

• The power imbalance between a federal agency and an undocumented person can make “voluntary” choices feel anything but free.
• When ICE warns it will “eventually” find and detain people who do not self-report, some lawyers and advocates see that as pressure that could push people to give up possible legal defenses.
• Families may Self-Deport through CBP Home without consulting a qualified immigration attorney and later discover they had options such as asylum, protection under anti-trafficking laws, or family-based relief.

Legal standards and open questions

For now, the ICE fact sheet does not change the legal standard for removal or voluntary departure; it reshapes how the agency asks people to leave and how it communicates the risks of staying.

• People with questions about their status or possible options must rely on existing laws and seek independent legal advice.
• The fact sheet does not list any new protections, waivers, or appeal rights for those who choose Self-Deportation.
• It also does not describe how information entered into CBP Home might be used if someone starts the process but later changes their mind.

Use, data, and public messaging

The government has not released data on how many undocumented immigrants have already used the CBP Home app to initiate Self-Deportation. However, by issuing a formal warning and a detailed fact sheet, ICE is clearly trying to widen the audience for this option and send a message that waiting to be found will carry heavier consequences.

For people living in the shadows, the new guidance raises hard choices about whether to stay and risk detention, or to leave through a system built and run by the same agencies that enforce deportation.

Official information about ICE’s enforcement role and programs is available on the official ICE website, though the agency’s new fact sheet on Self-Deportation and the CBP Home process is being circulated mainly through internal channels and public statements rather than prominent public campaigns.