DeSantis promotes flights home for migrants, won't share who's paying

USA Today

19 hours ago

The new program is called 'Voluntary Departure.'
Florida is buying commercial flights for migrants as an alternative to detention, according to the federal government.
In a July 31 email, a spokesperson for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said the Miami Border Patrol Sector, in collaboration with the state and the agency's office of field operations, has begun a new program called "Voluntary Departure."
"This program offers illegal aliens in custody, who have no prior felony convictions, the opportunity to return to their home countries on direct airline flights," the spokesperson said, adding the tickets for the commercial flights are bought by the state.
The spokesperson directed all follow up questions to the state of Florida for information, but both the governor's office and the Florida Division of Emergency Management did not respond to requests for comment.
At an Aug. 1 press conference, however, Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke of a "short circuit" option migrants have to fly to their home country on their own.
"You'll be escorted, they'll make sure you get on the plane, and there'll be oversight," DeSantis said in Orlando. "You're not going to be able to abscond, but you will be able to return to your home country without having to go through all this."
It's not the first time DeSantis has spoken of this self-deportation option, but the state has not disclosed whether taxpayer dollars are being used to buy the tickets, how many tickets have been bought so far this year and to which countries these flights were headed to.
In late July, The Washington Examiner reported the new "Voluntary Departure" is a collaboration with the Florida Highway Patrol, FDEM and CBP's Miami office. While this program isn't the only self-deportation program available in the United States, it is the only reported state-funded program so far.
As previously reported, Florida officials have warned migrants living in Florida illegally with promises of detention and have urged them to self-deport.
"I make no apologies for saying illegal immigration is a scourge on this country. It needs to stop, it needs to stop now," said Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia. "And if there's any illegal immigrant listening to my voice right now, self deport. Use the app. We will get you home. Do not come here, because you will be removed."
According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, people who self-deport through the CBP Home App will also receive a stipend of $1,000, paid after their return to their home country has been confirmed.
In June, 2,852 migrants were given orders of removal in immigration court in Florida, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), which tracks immigration data.
Larry Keefe, the director of the State Immigration Enforcement Council, also recommended self-deportation at a July 25 appearance at the South Florida Detention Facility in the Everglades, also known as Alligator Alcatraz
"It is my strong recommendation to you that if you do not take up (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem on the CBP Home option to return home, that you will very likely be in a place just like this, if not this place," Keefe said.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at [e-mail].