Latest news with #selfdeport
New York Times
01-08-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Florida Is Buying Plane Tickets for Unauthorized Immigrants to Self-Deport
Florida has started to pay for plane tickets for certain unauthorized immigrants to self-deport, officials said this week, in what appears to be the first such program run in part by a state. Unauthorized immigrants who are in custody and have no prior felony convictions may be offered direct commercial flights to return to their home countries as part of the program, which is a collaboration between the Florida Highway Patrol and the U.S. Border Patrol's Miami sector. The program is underway in law enforcement stations in West Palm Beach and Dania Beach, south of Fort Lauderdale, Madison Kessler, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said in a statement. The Border Patrol also confirmed in that the program is in effect. On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that unauthorized immigrants could avoid being taken to the state-run detention center in the Florida Everglades named 'Alligator Alcatraz' if they chose to self-deport. 'We do have options for you to short-circuit that whole process if you're here illegally,' he said. Perhaps more than any other state, Florida has sought to aggressively assist the federal government with immigration enforcement. It has required state and county law enforcement to sign formal cooperation agreements with federal authorities and built a state-run immigration detention center under emergency state powers. Mr. DeSantis and James Uthmeier, the state's attorney general, have threatened local elected officials who have tried to resist. The Florida self-deportation program is distinct from a federal program that offers unauthorized immigrants a $1,000 stipend and a plane ticket home. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
16-07-2025
- Politics
- CNN
‘There are no limits on being a target': Why this family is self-deporting to Mexico
Fearing increased immigration enforcement, undocumented immigrant Julio Mendoza and his American wife, Sasha, made the difficult decision to self-deport to Mexico with their three children, all of whom are US Citizens. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez reports.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Migrant being held in Alligator Alcatraz now begging for chance to self-deport
A 63-year-old migrant detained at Florida 's controversial Alligator Alcatraz immigration facility is pleading for the opportunity to self-deport. Fernando Artese, 63, an undocumented immigrant from Argentina, had been preparing to leave the country for good with his family when his plans were upended by a traffic stop in Jupiter, Florida. Fernando, who had lived in the U.S. for more than a decade, was arrested on July 3 for driving with a suspended license and was later placed on an immigration hold, despite his plans to voluntarily deport. His daughter, Carla Artese, 19, said the family had been preparing to leave the country and settle in Argentina. 'This year, we were trying to leave the USA, and ICE got him and sent him to Alligator Alcatraz, where they treat them like criminals and have no rights, ' Carla explained. She added that she and her family had been 'saving up' for the cross-country trip they had been planning. 'The plan was to drive cross-country to California, pass through Mexico, visit family in Argentina, and then fly to Madrid,' she told the Miami New Times, adding that she was born in Spain and had planned to start college there. However, their ambitious plans drastically changed after her father was detained. 'On the second day of the trip, we were stopped in Jupiter, where were were passing by an area that was more of a rich area,' Fernando's daughter said. 'He was driving, and when he was stopped, we actually stopped, we were talking to them, they run the plate - it was because my dad didn't have a license.' After the arrest, Fernando was placed on an immigration hold and transferred to the Alligator Alcatraz facility in the Florida Everglades - a newly constructed detention center that has garnered significant criticism for its alleged conditions. 'Since I came here [the the United States], I've always had the fear of something happening to my dad, and I feel like my biggest fear happened,' Carla said. 'And I feel like my biggest fear happened, and in the worst situation it could have been.' Fernando has since described the conditions at the facility as harsh and unsanitary, citing extreme temperature swings, mosquito infestations, and a lack of privacy. He also reported that detainees had to handle human waste after toilets malfunctioned, the Miami New Times reported. Fernando has also likened the site to a 'concentration camp' calling it a 'Hispanic concentration camp' full of mostly working-class immigrants. 'My dad tells me, 'We're all like a family in there eating together,'' Carla told the Miami New Times of her father's experience in the camp. 'It's the Hispanic community,' she added. The 63-year-old father-of-one added that he has had only three showers since arriving at the facility. Fernando, who holds Italian citizenship, has made it clear that he wishes to return to Italy, but says he has not been provided with any information about how to proceed. On July 10, he reported that officials at Alligator Alcatraz had made an announcement that detainees who wanted to self-deport should line up. However, when detainees did so, officials disappeared without any explanation. Carla, who has been desperately trying to assist her father, has since started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for an immigration attorney. The campaign has raised over $5,000 of its $10,000 goal, but Carla says more funds are needed to navigate the legal process. 'They haven't given him any information about his case or any right to an attorney. Not to mention, they haven't added him to the system yet, so he doesn't even appear like an inmate anywhere,' she wrote on the fundraising page. 'We want to get an attorney soon to guide us and help us through our situation to make it as quick as possible to see my dad again, and we need help to cover the expenses.' Carla expressed concern over her father's treatment and the lack of transparency in his case. 'They treat them like criminals and have no rights,' she said. Still, Carla holds on to hope. She said that despite the uncertainty, her father remains committed to the YouTube project they had planned, called 'Argentinomades.' 'I know he's still going to want to make that project,' she says, 'so I would love to make it and have people follow it so when he gets out, he can see that.' Stephanie Hartman, a spokesperson for the Florida Department of Emergency Management, has since defended the new facility, claiming the allegations against the center are 'completely false.' 'Those allegations are completely false. The facility meets all required standards and is in good working order,' Hartman wrote in an email to the Miami New Times. 'Detainees have access to potable water from on-site tanks refilled by 6,000-gallon trucks. Each individual is issued a personal cup they can refill at any time, and bottled water is provided at meals. Tanks are regularly sanitized, flushed, and tested to ensure water quality. Full-size showers are available daily with no restriction on bathing water All wastewater is hard-pumped into 22,000-gallon frac tanks, maintained below 50% capacity and pumped daily to minimize transfers. Tanks, hoses, and connections are fully contained to prevent spills and are regularly inspected to ensure zero environmental impact,' the statement concluded. The Florida Division of Emergency Management quickly constructed the controversial site, which officials have said will detain more than 3,000 people. The Trump administration has also touted the facility as a place to hold the 'worst of the worst' criminals before removing them from the country. 'Alligator Alcatraz, and other facilities like it, will give us the capability to lock up some of the worst scumbags who entered our country under the previous administration,' U.S. Department of Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem said in a June 30 press release.
Fox News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Noem's unexpected travel solution showcases key Trump policy in action
EXCLUSIVE: When Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's plane ride home encountered issues back from Guatemala on Thursday, she hitched a ride from Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE had just conducted a deportation flight from the United States to the Central American country, as the administration ramps up its efforts to remove those in the country illegally. "Had some plane issues on the ride back from Guatemala. Fortunately, an ICE deportation flight carrying criminal illegal aliens had just touched down on the same tarmac in Guatemala," Noem said in a statement. The secretary used the opportunity to encourage individuals to self-deport before facing potential detention or further legal repercussions. For illegal immigrants who do not have criminal backgrounds, they are being offered free travel outside of the United States and $1,000. In addition, those who opt to self-deport will have their "failure to depart" fines, if applicable, scrapped. "Hitched a ride back to the USA on ICE Air—great flight. Use the [CBP Home] app to self deport now!" Noem continued. According to DHS, the arriving flight included people with drug trafficking, arson, assault and battery convictions. The flight left Alexandria, Louisiana, and arrived in Guatemala at 1:30 p.m., just two hours before they were about to take off. The secretary just wrapped up a multi-country visit to Central America, including Panama, Honduras and Costa Rica. Noem announced that Honduras and Guatemala could now potentially take in asylum seekers as part of a deal. "Honduras and now Guatemala, after today, will be countries that will take those individuals and give them refugee status as well," Noem said, according to the Associated Press. "We've never believed that the United States should be the only option, that the guarantee for a refugee is that they go somewhere to be safe and to be protected from whatever threat they face in their country. It doesn't necessarily have to be the United States," she added. The U.S. and Honduras also agreed to a "statement of intent" for "biometric cooperation." "We strengthened our partnership to combat illegal migration by signing a statement of intent for biometric cooperation—a critical tool to help both Honduras and the United States detect criminals and terrorists attempting to cross our borders," Noem posted to X on Thursday.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Idaho man self-deports, U.S. citizen family to uproot and follow
Idaho () — Cenobio Feliciano-Galeana came to the U.S. illegally when he was 18 years old. 18 years since he's found a life, a wife, and now four children. But after seeing the deportations taking place across the country, he has decided to self-deport back to his home country of Mexico. Ashlee, Cenobio's wife, says she and the family are coming with him. At the end of the year, she plans move with her four children to a country they have never known, just to keep the family together. PREVIOUSLY: Utah immigration lawyer, who is a naturalized U.S. citizen, ordered to self-deport Since they began their relationship, Ashlee says she and her family have been trying to get Cenobio through the process to gain status in the U.S., with no luck. Several lawyers and thousands of dollars later, she says not even being married to a U.S. citizen helps Cenobio's cause. She details, 'If I had a penny for every time somebody has said that, I'd have the money to pay for those lawyers.' She says the lawyers initially told them they had a fifty-fifty chance. After the Trump administration was sworn in, she says she was told they had no chance. Their options were to stay and risk it or have Cenobio self-deport and try again in 10 years. Ashlee explains, 'We have a six-year-old down to a nine-month-old baby. Ten years without a father? That is huge.' For her, moving with him is her only option. Staying wasn't something she was willing to do. She says, 'Wait for one day them to come into my home and take my husband away like a criminal and have my kids have to see that. And I decided that was not a choice I was willing to live with.' Ashlee says Cenobio never committed a crime. His name doesn't bring anything up in the Utah court system. His only crime was being caught at the border twice and crossing itself a crime; one that Ashlee acknowledges but doesn't believe it means he should never get a chance. The Latest: Protests over immigration raids spread across the US She says, 'He was born on the wrong side of a line. He came here because he was starving. You know, what would you do if he were truly went days without eating, starving? Where would your desperation lead you?' So now, Ashlee and the kids pack up their things for a country they don't know, wondering if they can ever come home again as a complete family. She hopes stories like hers inspires change so that a path to having status in the U.S. is attainable for people like her husband. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
