Voluntary Departure Incentive Program Executive Summary
This proposal outlines a market-based approach to addressing unauthorized immigration through voluntary incentives rather than forced deportation. The program would offer $10,000 to individuals who voluntarily return to their country of origin, with the option to reapply for legal entry after 7 years.
Program Cost and Scope
Base cost: $10,000 per participant
Target participation: Up to 10 million individuals
Total direct program cost: ~$100 billion
Additional administrative costs for verification and processing
Significantly less expensive than forced deportation proposals ($200-400 billion+)
Key Program Features
Voluntary Participation
Self-selection eliminates need for enforcement infrastructure
Payment delivered at point of departure
Verification through existing border/customs infrastructure
Option to reapply through legal channels after 7 years
Implementation
Payment at point of departure ensures program integrity
Coordination with existing customs/immigration infrastructure
Identity verification through departure process
Partnership with receiving countries for reintegration
Economic Benefits
Housing Market Stabilization
Reduced housing demand leading to lower costs
Increased availability of rental units
More affordable home ownership opportunities
Reduced overcrowding in high-density areas
Labor Market Improvements
Natural wage increases through market forces
Improved working conditions
Enhanced bargaining power for workers
Better benefits as employers compete for labor
Fiscal Impact
Potentially net inflation negative when housing costs are considered
Increased purchasing power for average Americans
Reduced strain on public services and infrastructure
More sustainable wage growth
Addressing Common Concerns
Economic Disruption
Market adjustment would be gradual due to voluntary nature
Wage increases would offset potential price increases
Housing cost reductions benefit entire economy
Businesses would adapt through automation and efficiency
Implementation Challenges
Simple payment at point of departure prevents fraud
Existing infrastructure can handle verification
No need for additional enforcement mechanism
Receiving countries likely to cooperate due to capital influx
Family Considerations
Voluntary nature allows families to make own decisions
No forced separations
Time to plan and organize affairs
Option for future legal return
Advantages Over Current and Proposed Approaches
Civil Rights Protection
No door-to-door enforcement
No workplace raids
No profiling of citizens or legal residents
Preserves constitutional protections
Cost Effectiveness
Lower total cost than enforcement approaches
No need for new detention facilities
Reduced legal challenges and associated costs
More predictable budgeting
Social Benefits
Reduced community trauma
No forced separations
Maintains community trust
Preserves civil liberties
Long-term Economic Impact
Working Class Benefits
Increased wages, especially at lower skill levels
Reduced housing costs (primary household expense)
Net increase in purchasing power
Better working conditions
More job opportunities
Market Adjustments
Gradual transition allows business adaptation
Innovation and automation incentivized
More sustainable business models
Fair market wages
Conclusion
The Voluntary Departure Incentive Program offers a humane, cost-effective, and market-based solution to unauthorized immigration. It avoids the civil rights concerns of enforcement-based approaches while providing significant economic benefits to working Americans through natural market adjustments in wages and housing costs. The voluntary nature ensures orderly implementation while the cost remains significantly below forced deportation proposals.
This approach balances immigration control objectives with economic stability and civil rights protection, offering a pragmatic path forward on a challenging policy issue.
Because it’s cheaper than doing it the other way. If your city could pay a criminal to be sent to another country and not be allowed to come back, would you take it? Or stand on “muh principles.”
Wait so we’re paying for their travel, and then paying them to leave? So you’re saying that if you can somehow get into our country you get $10,000? You should never make breaking the law a benefit to anyone especially the law breaker. Your heart’s in the right place but rewarding bad behavior has never worked out for any kids or adults
And the behavior we are rewarding is leaving. You probably put in a stipulation that if they come back or are caught at the boarder again, they get thrown in a prison in mexico for 10 years or something.
Yes, I’d stand on “muh principles” every single time. We’ve already given them enough. They broke our laws the moment they stepped foot onto American soil; then they were recipients of more generosity than our own citizens received when struck with a natural disaster in NC. They need to be unceremoniously removed from this country and denied the right to reapply for 15 years.
Welp - my principles have as few brownshirts knocking on doors of people who may be citizens demanding “papers please”.
This is ruthless efficiency. None of the other proposals are going to get 10 million out of the country - especially out of blue cities. Politics is the art of the possible. This is possible.
But you didn’t say “possible citizens”; you said “illegals”. Since we are not, generally speaking, a nation of brownshirts, I believe I’ll go with the idea that we would know whose door we were knocking on before we knocked.
So how are you going to know who the 30 million illegals are? You can’t ask ANYONE who is not a citizen for proof they are a citizen. Get it? 4th amendment.
You know they will be supported by lawfare. And they will get activists who get IDed illegally on purpose, and sue. And they will win because they will sue in LA / DC / SF. The cost of that over hundreds of thousands of cases is FAR MORE than simply saying “here’s 10k if you’re on the plane.”
You will not be able to deport anyone in CA otherwise. You just won’t. You’re dreaming if you think he will get to 10 million without a proposal like this. It’s pure wishful thinking.
Why wouldn’t we just make it easier to become legal citizens? I wonder if that would be more cost effective than what you’ve proposed. Appreciate the organization, but I just don’t think mass deportation is even necessary.
We are sure as f NOT going to welcome criminals into our country with open arms. They broke the law with what they’ve done! It’s past time for them to be thrown out of our country, NOT rewarded!
No foreigner is entitled to become an American citizen, ESPECIALLY those who very first thing they did while coming here was to spit on our laws and disrespect us! We are not a 3rd world trash country! They must all go.
I believe this may mitigate extreme violence from them. what has happened isn’t their fault persay, What’s happened to Americans is far worse and we deserve compensation if they do.
It’s extremely necessary due to the fact that it was used by foreign adversaries and the Biden admin to wage war upon American soil, (no proof just a hunch).
I understand your point to a certain extent. As a former employer I know I could not ask about citizenship, but I could ask for ID, up to and including a birth certificate. I know that local police cannot legally inquire about citizenship, and I know that even ICE has to have probable cause. However, in those cases where they are certain without a reasonable doubt that the person they’re looking at is here illegally (e.g., in the case of a person who is known to be a member of a cartel with a criminal background), I would never agree to paying that person to get on a plane. In fact, “muh principles” would still echo a resounding “NO!” to the idea of paying anyone who entered illegally to then leave. That rests right up there with putting them up in a 5-star NYC hotel while our veterans are sleeping under bridges. I just can’t get there.
Maybe Trump and/or Musk will like the idea, and maybe thousands more will like it (in which case I’ll be overruled), but I just can’t get there.
I would like to say first off they came to our country illegally. There are many impoverished American families that could use $10,000 rather than incentivizing people to come to this country because they can get $10,000, I feel it’s a better idea to dump their asses back into Mexico and let them figure it out. We shouldn’t have to pay $10,000 to get people who were here illegally out of our country