US President Donald Trump has implemented a government program to encourage illegal immigrants to leave the country voluntarily. He signed a decree on Friday (local time) to encourage immigrants to “self-deport”, Trump announced on his online platform Truth Social. Those who nevertheless remain in the USA must expect punitive measures. There is protest against the stricter US immigration policy: On Saturday, dozens of families demonstrated at the Mexican border against the increasing militarization of US border policy.
“To all illegal immigrants: book your free flight now!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Friday. Illegal aliens are being made it as easy as possible to leave the country, he said, adding that any illegal immigrant could “simply report to an airport”. The free flight could also be booked directly via a cell phone app. “As long as it's not here, you can go wherever you want,” Trump explained. In addition, illegal immigrants are to receive a kind of handout if they leave the US permanently. The US President warned that those who remain in the USA would face sanctions such as “significant prison sentences, enormous fines, confiscation of all possessions and garnishment of all wages”.
The US government announced earlier this week that it would pay illegal immigrants in the USA 1,000 dollars (883 euros) and cover their travel costs if they voluntarily return to their home country. According to the US Department of Homeland Security, the average cost of arresting, detaining and deporting an illegal immigrant in the US is 17,121 dollars. With the help of “self-deportations”, the costs could be reduced by “around 70 percent” - despite covering the travel costs and hand money.
In view of the numerous lawsuits filed by migrants against their deportation from the USA, the US government also threatened on Friday to “suspend” the rights of those affected to sue. Trump is considering suspending the protected “right to bodily liberty” as part of his comprehensive action against migrants, his advisor Stephen Miller told journalists. The suspension of the judicial review of the legality of detention, known in English as the Writ of Habeas Corpus, is “an option that we are actively considering”, Miller explained. He based his considerations on the US Constitution. This “clearly states that the law of habeas corpus can be suspended in times of invasion”.
During the election campaign, Trump announced a tough stance against irregular immigration and held out the prospect of the largest deportation campaign in US history. His approach is highly controversial and is increasingly meeting with legal resistance. Protests have also repeatedly criticized the US president's migration policy: On Saturday, dozens of families demonstrated at the Mexican border against the US president's immigration policy. They released red balloons and waved red roses to protest against the cancellation of a Mother's Day family reunion forced by Trump's immigration policy.
A few days ago, the US military set up a restricted area along the border in the state of Texas where people without entry papers can be arrested. As a result, an event entitled "Hugs, Not Walls", which has been held every year since 2016 to bring people living in the USA without permission together with their relatives left behind in Mexico for Mother's Day, had to be canceled. During another protest against a migrant deportation center in the US state of New Jersey, the mayor of Newark, Ras Baraka, was temporarily arrested a few days ago. According to the federal prosecutor responsible, he was "guilty of trespassing". According to media reports, the Democratic mayor - an avowed opponent of US President Trump and his migration policy - was released from custody on Friday.
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