Proclamation

Over the last 4 years, the United States has endured a full-scale invasion of aliens entering and remaining in the country illegally, causing a relentless onslaught of crime, vagrancy, violence, and death in countless American communities. This lawless invasion has also limited the capacity of American schools and hospitals to provide for American citizens and has diverted billions of dollars in Federal, State, and local social services from Americans in need.

The continued presence of illegal aliens in our Nation forces American taxpayers to bear a tremendous fiscal burden to support them, including through costs related to healthcare, food stamps, public housing, emergency medical services, education, and shelter, as well as the costs of crimes committed by illegal aliens. In Fiscal Year 2023 alone, these costs were estimated to exceed $150 billion in taxpayer dollars. Removal flights of illegal aliens are a necessary aspect of immigration enforcement and upholding the rule of law, but they require substantial resources and manpower.

Therefore, the provision of financial incentives to encourage and assist aliens illegally in the country to elect to depart from the United States has the potential to save tremendous taxpayer resources, while restoring the sovereignty of our country.

As President, it is my legal obligation to exercise all tools at my disposal to end this invasion, remove the illegal-alien invaders from the United States, and protect the American people. This proclamation establishes Project Homecoming, which will present illegal aliens with a choice: either leave the United States voluntarily, with the support and financial assistance of the Federal Government, or remain and face the consequences.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), hereby proclaim and direct as follows:

Section 1. Free Return Home and CBP Home Application. (a) In furtherance of the purposes of this proclamation, and to facilitate the rapid departure of illegal aliens from the United States, I direct, pursuant to section 215(a)(1) of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1185(a)(1)), the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the heads of other relevant executive departments and agencies (agencies), to create seamless processes for illegal aliens to rapidly depart the United States, including through available technological resources, such as the “CBP Home” application.