Thousands of Illegal Immigrants Have Registered on CBP Home App to Self-Deport, CBP Says

The DHS said that those who remain in the United States and have not yet registered on the app will have to pay a fine.

The Department of Homeland Security in Washington on Aug. 12, 2024. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said thousands of illegal immigrants have registered on the CBP Home app to self-deport, and that those who have not yet done so will face consequences.

“In less than 100 days, thousands of illegal aliens have used the CBP Home app to self-deport,” DHS Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told The Epoch Times via email on April 22.

McLaughlin said that illegal immigrants still residing in the country must immediately use the CBP Home app to leave the country, or they will face penalties.

“This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order,” McLaughlin added.

The Trump administration announced on March 3 that it made available the CBP Home app for those who came into the country via the CBP One app and were unable to legalize their immigration status.

The CBP Home app is an update of the CBP One app, which the Biden administration used since January 2023 for U.S.-bound migrants to schedule appointments with immigration officials and apply for temporary asylum before they enter the United States.

Meanwhile, Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s designated border czar, told reporters at the White House on April 23 that over the past three months, approximately 68,000 illegal immigrants have been arrested.

“And we’re going to continue, despite what the district court says,” Homan said, referring to ongoing legal battles surrounding Trump’s deportation orders.

On Jan. 20, immediately upon his inauguration, Trump ended the CBP One app and issued an order to enforce federal immigration laws.

“Over the last 4 years, the prior administration invited, administered, and oversaw an unprecedented flood of illegal immigration into the United States,” Trump wrote in the Jan. 20 order. “Millions of illegal aliens crossed our borders or were permitted to fly directly into the United States on commercial flights and allowed to settle in American communities, in violation of longstanding Federal laws.”

Trump said that enforcing the country’s current immigration laws is crucial to ensuring national and public safety, adding that “the American people deserve a Federal Government that prioritizes their interests and understands its sacred obligation to prioritize the safety, security, and financial and economic well-being of Americans.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement on March 10 that CBP Home would allow those without legal status to notify the government of their intent to leave the country, allowing them “the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream.”

“If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return,” she said.

On April 8, DHS also revoked the legal status of some of the more than 900,000 people who were allowed to enter the United States with the CBP One app, according to a CBP report.

”Under federal law, Secretary Noem—in support of the President—has full authority to revoke parole,” a DHS spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. “Canceling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security.”

Zachary Stieber and Travis Gillmore contributed to this report.