Democrats thought they'd seen everything in the first year of Trump's second term.
But the Department of Homeland Security had one more surprise up their sleeve.
And Homeland Security gave illegal aliens a Cyber Monday deal that left critics speechless.
Trump Administration Turns Biden's Border Crisis Into Mass Exodus
The Department of Homeland Security dropped what they're calling the "holiday deal of a lifetime" on Cyber Monday for illegal aliens in the United States.
In a retro, 1990s-inspired advertisement that looks like it came straight out of an infomercial vault, DHS announced that illegal immigrants could score a free flight home plus a $1,000 bonus just for voluntarily leaving the country.¹
Here's the genius part — paying illegal aliens $1,000 to leave costs taxpayers 70% less than arresting, detaining, and deporting them the hard way.²
The average forced deportation runs $17,121 per person, which means Trump is saving Americans a fortune while still getting illegal aliens out of the country.
And the numbers prove it's working beyond anyone's expectations.
DHS reports that 2 million illegal immigrants have already left the United States under Trump, with a staggering 1.6 million of them self-deporting voluntarily.³
That's more people gone in less than a year than most presidents deport in an entire term.
"The CBP Home App offers those in this country illegally a fantastic gift this holiday season: a free flight home, a $1,000 bonus, and the potential opportunity to return to the United States legally," Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.⁴
McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the Cyber Monday promotion was made possible through the "generosity" and "Christmas spirit" of the American taxpayer.⁵
"Your choice is simple: Choose self-deportation and reap the rewards, or stay here and continue breaking our laws, which will lead to you being arrested and deported," McLaughlin added.⁶
Those aren't empty threats either — Trump's ICE agents have been conducting aggressive enforcement operations that have illegal aliens running scared across the country.
Biden's Mass Migration Tool Becomes Trump's Deportation Machine
Trump repurposed Biden's CBP One appointment system in March 2025, transforming the app that facilitated the worst border crisis in American history into a weapon for mass deportations.
The Heritage Foundation called it "poetic justice" that an app used to bring in over a million illegal aliens is now getting them to leave.⁷
Biden exploited CBP One to wave illegal immigrants into the country with the stroke of a pen.
Trump converted it into CBP Home and turned the tables completely.
The self-deportation program launched as "Project Homecoming" in May 2025 with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem making the pitch simple: leave now on your own terms, or face arrest and permanent banishment from America.⁸
Tens of thousands have used the app to arrange their departures, with DHS providing free flights and the $1,000 exit bonus upon confirmed arrival back home.⁹
Compare that to George W. Bush's pathetic 2008 voluntary departure program that attracted exactly eight people out of 457,000 eligible.¹⁰
Eight people.
Trump's combination of serious enforcement with smart incentives is producing results that make Bush look like he wasn't even trying.
The difference is simple — Trump created an environment where illegal aliens actually believe they'll be caught and deported if they stay, so the voluntary option looks a whole lot better than waiting for ICE to show up at their door.
Left-Wing Critics Melting Down Over Trump's Success
The left-wing American Immigration Lawyers Association called the self-deportation offer "a deeply misleading and unethical trick."¹¹
These are the same lawyers who cheered when Biden flew illegal aliens into the country on taxpayer-funded charter flights and handed them work permits.
Now they're clutching their pearls because Trump is offering to pay for return trips home?
Immigration attorneys are warning illegal aliens not to take the deal because they might be barred from returning for 10 years under existing law.¹²
Good.
That's exactly what should happen to people who entered our country illegally.
ProPublica found some Venezuelan immigrants who registered months ago and claim they're still waiting for flights, trying to paint this as Trump breaking promises.¹³
But here's what ProPublica won't tell you — those same Venezuelans are free to buy their own tickets home any time they want if they're so desperate to leave.
The truth is they want American taxpayers to fund their departures while keeping their options open to sneak back in later.
Not happening under Trump.
Meanwhile, conservative immigration analysts point out that even with these massive deportation numbers, Trump still hasn't matched President Eisenhower's 1954 operation that removed 31% of the illegal alien population in a single year.¹⁴
That's the bar Trump is shooting for, and he's making progress toward it every single day.
Trump Delivers While Democrats Seethe
The Cyber Monday promotion is just the latest escalation in Trump's historic crackdown that has Democrats trying everything to stop him in the courts.
What they can't stop is the reality on the ground.
Daily border encounters have plunged dramatically since Trump took office.¹⁵
The thousands of illegal crossings that happened daily under Biden have collapsed to near nothing.
The 2 million departures represent the largest reduction in the illegal alien population in modern American history, achieved in less than a year.
Critics can whine all they want about the $1,000 payments, but Americans understand basic math.
Paying illegal aliens to leave voluntarily saves massive amounts of money compared to the full deportation process, and it gets them out of the country either way.
That's a win-win that only Democrats could find a way to complain about.
Trump promised to secure the border and remove illegal aliens from American communities during his campaign.
Unlike every other politician who made similar promises and failed to deliver, Trump is actually doing it.
The Cyber Monday deal isn't just good marketing — it's proof that Trump means business about restoring law and order to America's immigration system.
And no amount of left-wing hysteria is going to change that.
¹ Bonny Chu, "DHS launches 'Cyber Monday deal' in retro 90s holiday ad," Fox News, December 1, 2025.
² "DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation," Department of Homeland Security, May 5, 2025.
³ "Deportation in the second Trump administration," Wikipedia, November 29, 2025.
⁴ Bonny Chu, "DHS launches 'Cyber Monday deal' in retro 90s holiday ad," Fox News, December 1, 2025.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ "Using the CBP Home App To Get Illegal Aliens to Self-Deport," The Heritage Foundation, 2025.
⁸ "DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation," Department of Homeland Security, May 5, 2025.
⁹ "Advocates scrutinize DHS holiday ad promoting self-deportation," NBC Boston, December 2, 2025.
¹⁰ "Can the Trump Administration's 'Self-Deportation' Campaign Succeed?" Migration Policy Institute, June 18, 2025.
¹¹ "AILA Statement: Trump Administration Lays Trap with Self-Deportation Offer," American Immigration Lawyers Association, 2025.
¹² "Watch out! Trump's self-deportation program is a trap," The Hill, May 22, 2025.
¹³ "Immigrants Who Tried to Self-Deport with Trump's CBP Home App Are Stuck in America," ProPublica, October 10, 2025.
¹⁴ "Significant Policy Changes Needed to Meet Mass Deportation Goals," The Heritage Foundation, 2025.
¹⁵ "100 Days of Making America Safe Again," Department of Homeland Security, April 29, 2025.