The Experimental Voluntary Deportation Program
The federal government is conducting an experiment to see if illegal immigrants would be willing to leave the country voluntarily if they were given a free ticket back home, according to various news reports.
Newsday reported that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the experimental program "Operation Scheduled Departure" on July 31. The program is now open to about 500,000 illegal immigrants living in the United States.
Here's how the program works, or at least is intended to work:
- Illegal immigrants who have ignored deportation orders and dodged immigration authorities have until August 22 to call a toll-free number and report to immigration authorities in Chicago, Illinois, Phoenix, Arizona, Charlotte, North Carolina, or San Diego or Santa Ana, California. The ones that do so will be given up to 90 days to settle their personal affairs in the United States before voluntarily leaving the country.
- By participating in the program, illegal immigrants will be able to avoid arrest and lengthy stays in immigration detention centers before deportation. In order to qualify for this program, the immigrants will be required to sign statements promising that they will not apply for legal residence in the United States or participate in immigration amnesty programs in the future. Immigrants with criminal records will not be eligible for the program and will have to be hunted by ICE the old-fashioned way. The program seeks to voluntarily deport law-abiding immigrants while leaving criminal immigrants in the country, in hiding.
- During the 90 days that the illegal immigrants who participate in the program are still in the United States, they may be required to wear an electronic monitoring device. Those who participate in this program may be eligible to receive help with or free tickets back to their home countries.
The program has been openly criticized by illegal immigrants and immigration groups on both sides of the issue. Some immigrants say that there are no jobs for them at home. Others say that they cannot leave income in the United States that supports their families in exchange for a ride home. Despite the criticism, ICE hopes to expand the program across the country.
Supporters of the program say that the program will save taxpayer money in the long run because it will reduce the need for immigration raids and detentions while still effectively removing illegal immigrants from the country. "Effectively" may be the operative word though; it remains to be seen how successful this voluntary deportation scheme will be.
ICE has only released selective details about "Operation Scheduled Departure," so there are still many details about the program that are unknown. Radio and print ads are scheduled to be released to announce the program and entice immigrants who may want to return home to participate.
