On Monday, the Trump administration touted its first successful “Project Homecoming” charter flight, carrying 64 participants who opted to self-deport back to their home countries.
It was the first group of illegal immigrants to take advantage of the self-deportation incentive program through the Department of Homeland Security. The program offers free airfare and $1,000 in resettlement assistance to illegal immigrants who leave by their own volition.
Self-deportation expedites the repatriation process and gives illegal immigrants the chance to come back to the U.S. legally—the first Project Homecoming charter flight left from Houston, TX, to Honduras and Colombia.
Today, @DHSgov conducted its first Project Homecoming charter flight of 64 individuals who voluntarily chose to self-deport to their home counties of Honduras and Colombia. If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial… pic.twitter.com/xVv5JtrbKs
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 19, 2025
“All participants were offered the same benefits as any illegal alien who self-deports using the CBP Home App. They received travel assistance, a $1,000 stipend, and preserved the possibility they could one day return to the United States legally,” DHS posted on X.
DHS also shared a video of the individuals and families preparing to leave Houston, where they were greeted and offered food, games and stuffed animals for their children.
The flight was voluntary, not an ICE enforcement operation. Thirty-eight immigrants arrived in Honduras to a warm welcome by their home government and family members, according to a DHS news release.
They also benefited from the Honduran government’s “Hermano, Hermana, Vuelve a Casa” program, which includes an additional $100 bonus for people over 18, food vouchers, and assistance in finding employment.
In Colombia, 26 participants were welcomed back by their families and representatives of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Migration Colombia. The Colombian government provided social services from the Family Welfare Institute (ICBF), and the Department of Social Prosperity.
The Trump administration launched the program in early May as a way to incentivize illegal immigrants to go back home and save American taxpayers money.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order establishing the first ever self-deportation program, authorizing government-funded flights and cash assistance for qualifying illegal immigrants.
“We are making it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to leave America,” Trump said when he announced the executive order in a post on Truth Social. “Illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country as long as it’s not here. You can go anywhere you want.”
DHS said this will be 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain and deport someone.
Besides a free flight, participants receive a $1,000 payment after they return home and verify the process through the CBP Home App.
It’s the same app the Biden administration used to expedite migrants from scheduling appointments at official ports of entry before they were paroled into the U.S., which was discontinued on the first day of Trump’s second term, the New York Post reports.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X with photos of individuals and children boarding the plane, encouraging those in the country illegally to take advantage of the program and do the right thing.
“If you are here illegally, use the CBP Home App to take control of your departure and receive financial support to return home,” Noem said. “If you don’t, you will be subjected to fines, arrest, deportation and will never be allowed to return. If you are in this country illegally, self-deport NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal, right way.”
