FLASHBACK: Mitt Romney mocked in 2012 for self-deportation concept that has now become a reality
President Donald Trump's push to increase the number of illegal immigrants who self-deport was originally the brainchild of former Sen. Mitt Romney, who pitched the idea of encouraging voluntary departures during his 2012 bid for president.
"The answer is self-deportation, which is people decide they can do better by going home because they can't find work here because they don't have legal documentation to allow them to work here," Romney said during a Republican primary debate in 2012, when asked how the U.S. could deport the millions of illegal immigrants in the country.
Romney was largely mocked for the idea during that campaign, including by Trump, who told Newsax in November 2012 that Romney's "maniacal" and "crazy" proposal had turned off Latino voters.
Fast-forward to 2025, and self-deportation has become a central theme of Trump's effort to speed the overall number of removals, with Trump sending an Oval Office video message last month to illegal immigrants encouraging them to use the CBP Home app to voluntarily leave the country.
"Leave now and self-deport voluntarily. If they do, they could potentially have the opportunity to return legally at some point in the future," Trump said in the video, adding that those who do not self-deport "will be found, they will be deported, and they will never be admitted again to the United States."
"Using the CBP home app to leave the United States voluntarily is the safest option for illegal aliens," Trump added.
That message has seemingly hit home over the last month, according to Department of Homeland Security Data (DHS) shared with Fox News Digital, which shows that more than 5,000 people have used the app to arrange their voluntary departure to the United States.
The push to increase that number has accelerated in recent days, with the administration unveiling a new plan to fine illegal immigrants who have received a final order of removal $998 for every day they fail to comply with the order and remain in the country. That fine is in addition to fines of $1,000-$5,000 for those who claimed they would self-deport but subsequently failed to do so.
DHS has also released a flyer spelling out the benefits of self-deportation, which boasts that illegal immigrants will be able to keep the money they earned while in the United States and retain the ability to legally migrate to the country in the future.
"Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country now. If they don't, they will face the consequences," DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News on Tuesday. "This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order."
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