The Daily Populous Sunday October 5th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by AudibleNod

The Trump administration is offering unaccompanied migrant children $US2,500 ($3,800) to leave the US voluntarily, according to a letter seen by Reuters that was sent to migrant shelters.

Officials at the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed a monetary offer was being made but did not specify an amount.

The letter was sent to shelters by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Refugee Resettlement, on Friday.

US President Donald Trump has launched an immigration crackdown since returning to the White House in January. (AP: Moises Castillo)

The letter stated the department will provide a "one-time resettlement support stipend of $US2,500" to unaccompanied children 14 or older.

An ICE official said the offer was first being made to 17 year olds.

Minors from Mexico are not eligible for the program but children who had already volunteered to leave the US as of Friday would be covered, the letter says.

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The move is the latest financial offer made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under President Donald Trump aimed at encouraging voluntary deportations.

In June, the State Department moved $US250 million to the DHS for voluntary deportations with the administration offering a $US1,000 stipend to migrants who "self deported".

Children need protection not coercion, critic says

Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defence, which provides legal services and support to unaccompanied children, called the move "a cruel tactic" that undermined "laws that guarantee" a process to determine if a child is eligible for US protection.

"Unaccompanied children seeking safety in the United States deserve our protection rather than being coerced into agreeing to return back to the very conditions that placed their lives and safety at risk," Ms Young said in a statement.

Is Trump an American authoritarian? Photo shows Donald Trump with one arm raised in a fist above his head. As in Donald Trump's first administration, we are being reminded how the US system relies on norms as well as laws.

According to federal law, migrant children who arrive at US borders without a parent or legal guardian are classified as unaccompanied and sent to federal government-run shelters until they can be placed with a family member or in foster care.

More than 2,100 unaccompanied children were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as of Thursday, according to department data.

HHS communications director Andrew Nixon said in a statement that the program "gives UACs a choice and allows them to make an informed decision about their future".

Why has the US had to stop deportations of Guatemalan children? Photo shows Shackled migrants deplane an aircraft as officials herd them down the stairs. Migrant children from Guatemala had already boarded planes in Texas when a federal judge in Washington DC halted their deportation.

Any payment would be provided after an immigration judge approved the request and the child arrived in their country of origin, Mr Nixon said.

The administration's efforts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children have faced legal challenges.

Last month, a federal judge ordered that the administration refrain from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children with active immigration cases while a legal challenge continued.

More than 600,000 migrant children have crossed the US-Mexico border without a parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to government data.

RichardRDown on October 5th, 2025 at 00:05 UTC »

If the Democratic Party did this the response from conservatives would be “oh, so you want to incentivize sending alien children here.”

dl_friend on October 5th, 2025 at 00:00 UTC »

And is there any assurance that these unaccompanied minors won't be robbed of that money either before they reach their homeland or shortly thereafter?

trollsong on October 4th, 2025 at 23:58 UTC »

Trump added: "Just think how much robux you can get. By the way, what's your screen name so I can add you?"