President Donald Trump, right, initially mocked former Sen. Mitt Romney's 2012 idea to encourage illegal immigrants to self-deport. (AP)
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.
IMMIGRATION THINK TANK COOKS UP SCHEME TO USE ‘SNITCHES’ TO FORCE MIGRANTS TO SELF-DEPORT
President Donald Trump has made a renewed push for illegal immigrants to self-deport. (Evan Vucci/AP)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"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."
Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/flashback-mitt-romney-mocked-2012-self-deportation-concept-has-now-become-reality