Trump administration offers teen migrants $2,500 to leave US voluntarily: reports

The Trump administration is now offering teen migrants a $2,500 stipend to leave the United States voluntarily, according to several reports citing a letter sent Friday by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Refugee Resettlement to shelters housing migrant children.

According to the letter seen by Reuters and other outlets, the department will provide a "one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500" to unaccompanied children 14 or older. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not confirm the monetary amount to Fox News Digital but said Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) could access financial support when returning home, should they choose that option.

TRUMP ADMIN REPORTS 2 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS 'REMOVED OR SELF-DEPORTED' FROM US IN FIRST 8 MONTHS

"Any payment to support a return home would be provided after an immigration judge grants the request and the individual arrives in their country of origin," Emily Covington, assistant director of ICE’s Office of Public Affairs, said in a statement. She said the offer was first being made to 17-year-olds. 

Covington said that cartels had trafficked countless unaccompanied children into the United States during the Biden Administration, and that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and HHS have been working diligently to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those children.

"Many of these UACs had no choice when they were dangerously smuggled into this country," she said. "ICE and the Office of Refugee and Resettlement at HHS are offering a strictly voluntary option to return home to their families."

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

The Associated Press reported that some immigration advocates had warned of a broader removal campaign they called "Freaky Friday." 

ICE rejected that claim, with Covington calling it "categorically false" and saying the phrase was fabricated to "instill fear and spread misinformation that drives the increased violence occurring against federal law enforcement."

The move is part of President Donald Trump’s campaign promise of carrying out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.

ICE DETAINERS IN TOP SANCTUARY CITY HAVE SKYROCKETED UNDER TRUMP COMPARED TO BIDEN'S 4-YEAR TERM: DHS 

Last month, DHS said that two million illegal immigrants "have been removed or have self-deported" from the United States since Jan. 20, putting the Trump administration on pace to break records.

In less than 250 days, an estimated 1.6 million illegal immigrants voluntarily self-deported, while 400,000 were removed by federal law enforcement, the DHS said, describing the situation as a "new milestone."

In May, Trump signed an executive order establishing the first-ever self-deportation program that incentivizes illegal migrants to voluntarily leave the country on a free flight and with a cash bonus.

Homeland Security said that migrants were being offered a $1,000 stipend each to leave. The department said it is 70% cheaper for American taxpayers, as it currently costs DHS, on average, over $17,000 to arrest, detain and deport someone.

In June, the State Department moved $250 million to DHS for voluntary deportations.

Shaina Aber, the executive director of the Acacia Center for Justice, a nonprofit that provides legal defense to immigrants, said in a statement that the $2,500 stipend undermines due process and may expose children to renewed trafficking cycles.

She said some of these children were trafficked into the U.S., often by cartels or smugglers, and if they are sent back without safeguards, they could fall back into the hands of the same traffickers.

"DHS’s message is confusing and seems to fly in the face of established laws and protocols that Congress passed to protect children from cyclical trafficking risks," Aber said. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bill Maher criticizes 'The View' hosts for delayed response to Jimmy Kimmel suspension

On Friday's episode of "Real Time," host Bill Maher slammed the co-hosts of "The View" for "silencing" themselves by waiting several days to comment on Jimmy Kimmel’s show being suspended.

Speaking about Democrats more broadly, he said, "It wasn't a good look for the woman party that all the guys were speaking out for Jimmy Kimmel when Trump went after him except on the woman show, where for five days the outspoken hosts were suddenly as quiet as a geisha." "Then on the fifth day they rose and said, ‘No one silences us.’"

The show had been, initially, conspicuously quiet on the decision by ABC to pull Kimmel off the air following the comedian's controversial remarks about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk, leading critics to suggest they were being pressured to remain silent by their own network.

JIMMY KIMMEL REVEALS HE NEVER THOUGHT HIS SHOW WOULD BE BACK ON AIR

Maher referenced "The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg on Sept. 22 declaring that "no one silences us." He argued that "no one had to" because "you silenced yourselves."

"Whoopi Goldberg continued, 'Did you all really think we weren't going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel?' Uh, no. I thought you would, but then you didn't," Maher joked. "Five days. Talk about needing extra time to get ready."

Representatives of "The View" declined Fox News Digital's request for a comment. 

This wasn’t the first time Maher called out the "outspoken hosts" of "The View" for their unusual silence on the controversy, given that the show typically opens with its "Hot Topics" segment featuring commentary on major headlines.

'THE VIEW' SLAMS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION, AVOIDS CRITICIZING ABC OVER KIMMEL SUSPENSION

"I’m friendly with the ladies on 'The View,' but they didn’t say anything about this, this week. Nothing," Maher noted the day after Kimmel's suspension.

"You know, because it’s never been their thing to weigh in on the issues. It’s just an upbeat party show. That’s why they hired people named Joy [Behar] and Sunny [Hostin] and Whoopi [Goldberg]," he quipped.

"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" was temporarily suspended by ABC and the Walt Disney Company on Wednesday, Sept. 17. (That day's "The View" had already aired.) The "View" co-hosts neglected to mention Kimmel's suspension on Thursday's episode, and Friday's show was taped prior to the news about Kimmel's suspension breaking.

HOWARD STERN BLASTS ABC OVER KIMMEL SUSPENSION, SAYS HE CANCELED DISNEY+ SUBSCRIPTION

On Monday, Sept. 22, five days after the late-night host's suspension, co-host Whoopi Goldberg claimed the show "took a breath" to see if Kimmel would publicly address his show's suspension.

"Now, look, did y’all really think we weren’t going to talk about Jimmy Kimmel?" Goldberg said. "I mean, have you watched the show over the last 29 seasons? So you know no one silences us, and to all my friends who reached out, you have to know, it’s OK, we’re still here. We’re still broadcasting. And when the news broke last week about Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension, we took a breath to see if Jimmy was going to say anything about it first. We did the same thing with Stephen Colbert. Then our show was on tape on Friday, but we are live here today, and we’re getting into it now."

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Fox News' Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

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