DHS increasing self-deportation stipend from $1,000 to $2,600
DHS is using the CBP Home Mobile App to incentivize self-deportation. (Department of Homeland Security)
(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Homeland Security announced on Wednesday that it is increasing its stipend for those who are in the United States illegally and self-deport by $1,600.
Previously, DHS offered $1,000 to those who use the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Home App to self-deport, but now, it’s raising that number to $2,600.
DHS claimed that since January 2025, 2.2 million people who are in the U.S. illegally have voluntarily self-deported — with “tens of thousands” using the CBP app. A report from the Brookings Institution released last week called DHS’ data into question, saying the department’s numbers “should not be considered a serious source.”
“To celebrate one year of this administration, the U.S. taxpayer is generously increasing the incentive to leave voluntarily for those in this country illegally- offering a $2,600 exit bonus,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a release. “Illegal aliens should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”
The increased amount is to mark to the first year of President Donald Trump’s term in office, and may only be temporary, DHS said in the release.
For months, the department has been pushing self-deportations — spending millions on advertisements that showcased it’s previous $1,000 payment and a plane ticket that people who register to self-deport are given.
It’s not clear how much money in total has been given to people who have self-deported.
DHS said in the first year of Trump’s term, there were 675,000 deportations. The authors of the Brookings Institution report estimated a figure much lower last week — saying there were between 310,000 and 315,000 removals in 2025.
Deporting migrants who are illegally in the U.S. was one of Trump’s key campaign promises, but advocates have said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol tactics have gone too far in some cases.
A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sign stands at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Senate Democrats on Thursday voted unanimously to block a package of six funding bills that would fund large portions of the government through the end of September — meaning a partial government shutdown could still happen in the coming days.
The bill failed to advance by a vote of 45-55. It would have needed at least 60 votes to proceed. Multiple Republicans also cast votes against the package.
The vote came amid news that talks are ongoing between Democrats and the White House over funding for the Department of Homeland Security ahead of the partial government shutdown that would begin at midnight Friday.
Those talks are intensifying in the final hours between the White House and Senate Democrats to reach an agreement over how to advance a package of bills necessary to fund the government — including Democrats’ request to separate the bill that funds DHS.
Democrats want DHS removed from a package that includes five other government funding bills so that changes to the DHS bill aimed at reining in Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be made without affecting the other agencies that still need to be funded.
There were Democratic calls to separate the DHS funding following the deaths of Renee Good, a mother of three who was fatally shot by an immigration enforcement officer in Minneapolis earlier this month, and became more urgent after the death of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse, who was killed in a shooting involving federal agents over the weekend.
If a deal is locked, Democrats would eventually need to vote yes on advancing this six-bill package. It is the first procedural step in allowing them to vote to modify it.
Although Democrats blocked this bill from moving forward, that doesn’t necessarily mean negotiations have fallen apart.
Majority Leader John Thune retained the right to call up this same vote later Thursday or Friday if he thinks a deal is locked in.
Negotiations are centered around that request from Democrats, sources told ABC News. This would allow the military and critical programs like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Head Start — a federal program run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that provides early childhood education, health, nutrition and family support services to low-income children and families — to be funded through September.
A deal would temporarily extend funding for DHS through a short-term bill, which would give Democrats and the White House more time to discuss any possible policy changes.
Coming into the negotiations, Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands including: ending roving patrols, ensuring federal agents are held to the same use of force policies that apply to state and local law enforcement, preventing agents from wearing masks and requiring body cameras.
Republicans need the support of at least seven Democrats in the Senate to avert a partial shutdown.
The White House has not yet commented on the ongoing negotiations.
While sources indicate Democratic leadership is optimistic that things are headed in their direction, that same level of optimism has not been shared from the White House, sources told ABC News.
It is likely that even if a deal is reached, there will still be a short partial shutdown. Any changes to the government funding bill passed in the Senate would have to go back to the House, which is currently in recess until Monday.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens as President Donald Trump addresses the media during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club on Jan. 3, 2026, in Palm Beach, Fla. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — Who is running Venezuela and how?
Confusion continued Monday amid seemingly contradictory messages from President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio about how the U.S. is dealing with the country after American forces captured dictator Nicolas Maduro over the weekend.
Trump on Sunday night doubled down on his assertion that the U.S. was “in charge” of the South American nation, after first proclaiming on Saturday the U.S. would “run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.”
“We’re dealing with the people. We’re dealing with the people that just got sworn in. And don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” Trump told reporters on Sunday as he flew back to Washington from Florida.
“What does that mean?” a reporter asked him.
“It means we’re in charge,” said Trump, who talked about extracting oil riches and potentially putting boots on the ground.
The president’s comments appear to be at odds with the less definitive characterization Secretary of State Marco Rubio made earlier Sunday during an interview on ABC’s “This Week.” Rubio is one of the Cabinet officials Trump said would “run” the country.
While Trump stated plainly that his administration was in charge and running things in Venezuela, Rubio was more circumspect, suggesting the U.S. would use economic leverage to impose its will.
“What we are running is the direction that this is going to move moving forward. And that is, we have leverage. This leverage we are using. And we intend to use. We started using already,” Rubio told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, referring to the U.S. quarantine on sanctioned oil tankers.
Rubio, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, said the Trump administration control plan relates to policy changes.
“But it is running this policy. And the goal of the policy is to see changes in Venezuela that are beneficial to the United States first and foremost, because that’s who we work for, but also we believe beneficial for the people of Venezuela who have suffered tremendously. We want a better future for Venezuela,” Rubio said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz echoed Rubio on Monday, telling the United Nations Security Council that the U.S. is “not occupying a country.”
“As Secretary Rubio has said, there is no war against Venezuela or its people. We are not occupying a country. This was a law enforcement operation in furtherance of lawful indictments that have existed for decades. The United States arrested a narco-trafficker who is now going to stand trial in the United States in accordance with the rule of law for the crimes he’s committed against our people for 15 years,” Waltz said.
Waltz and other administration officials have described the capture of Maduro as a law enforcement operation that was facilitated by the U.S. military.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by U.S. forces early Saturday in the capital of Caracas.
Trump, speaking in-depth on the operation from his Mar-a-Lago club that morning, said the U.S. would “make Venezuela great again.” American companies would soon start selling the country’s vast oil reserves, he said.
But when pressed about who exactly would be running Venezuela, Trump said that it was some of the people “behind” him, which also included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
On Saturday, a U.S. official gave more details about what the U.S.-run Venezuela would look like, saying that top administration officials would “continue to diplomatically engage with those remaining in the Venezuelan government” and also engage with oil executives as they begin to expand industry there.
Maduro and his wife made their initial appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday to face federal charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. They pleaded not guilty. Maduro declared he is “innocent” and “still president.”
Meanwhile in Venezuela, the country’s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as the interim president on Monday.
Trump on Saturday said Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, didn’t have the “respect” to govern the country.
He also had said that Rodriguez was cooperating with the U.S., a claim she appeared to dispute in an address to Venezuelans when she called for Maduro’s immediate release.
Asked on Sunday night to clarify where he stands with Rodriguez, Trump said: “I don’t have to tell you. I just say that she will face a situation probably worse than Maduro, because, you know, Maduro gave up immediately.”
In a more conciliatory message on Sunday night, Rodriguez said she would “prioritise moving towards balanced and respectful international relations between the United States and Venezuela, and between Venezuela and other countries in the region, premised on sovereign equality and non-interference.”
“President Donald Trump, our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war. This has always been President Nicolas Maduro’s message, and it is the message of all of Venezuela right now. This is the Venezuela I believe in and have dedicated my life to,” Rodriguez wrote in a social media post.
ABC News’ Mike Pappano and Brianna Sanchez contributed to this report.
Rep. Jeff Hurd arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol, May 6, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump made a stunning reversal Friday by again backing a Colorado House Republican for reelection a month after he publicly scorned him and endorsed his opponent.
In a lengthy social media post, Trump said he would no longer back Hope Scheppelman’s bid in the Republican primary for Rep. Jeff Hurd’s seat in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, after she accepted an offer to join his administration.
“Together with them, we decided that Congressman Jeff Hurd, of Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, should in no way, shape, or form, be impeded from winning the District in that the Democrat alternative is a DISASTER for our Country,” he said in his social media post.
In February, Trump withdrew his endorsement of Hurd, lashing out against him in a social media post after he voted to rebuke the president’s tariffs on Canada.
“Hurd is one of a small number of Legislators who have let me and our Country down,” Trump said in the February social media post.
In Friday’s announcement, the president changed his mind.
“Every true MAGA supporter and Republican, if they truly care about saving our Country, will do everything in their power to unify together, and defeat the Crazed Radical Left Democrats this November,” he said.
The district has been red since 2011, and has traditionally been seen as a strong Republican area.
Trump said he spoke with Scheppelman, a Navy veteran and nurse, and her husband, about his decision and offered both of them positions in his administration in a “capacity to be determined.”
“Hope and Steven are wonderful and patriotic Veterans of our U.S. Navy, and loyal supporters of our Historic MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN Movement,” Trump said in the post.
Hurd thanked Trump for the endorsement in an X post Friday.
“The President and I share the same goals: securing the border, American energy dominance, and helping working families,” he said.
Scheppelman, whose social media pages feature a picture of her and Trump posing with thumbs-up signs, said in a statement on X that she would suspend her campaign given Trump’s request.
She said Hurd “now has the opportunity to correct his naive voting record and support President Trump, and our slim Republican majority in the U.S. House, in our shared battle to save the country we love.”
“If he does not, I will run again in 2028 and defeat [Hurd] in order to give the citizens of Colorado’s 3rd district, and all of America, the representation we deserve,” Scheppelman added.
Trump’s involvement a welcome development for House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson protecting a historically small majority this fall.
By backing Hurd, the GOP avoids another contentious primary in a long red district, as the incumbent is running unopposed.
Alex Kelloff, a Democratic candidate running for the House seat, responded to the president’s announcement Friday on X.
“Trump is worried we’re going to win this seat, a testament to all the work our campaign has been doing the last 11 months,” he said.
The Colorado primary is set for June 30.
-ABC News’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
