An immigration officer was recently arrested and charged with taking bribes from immigrants. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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.
U.S. soldiers take measures at the Mexican border after the Department of Defense signed a new order declaring 110,000 acres of land on the Mexican border as a National Defense Area at the request of US President Donald Trump in New Mexico, United States on May 8, 2025. (Can Hasasu/Anadolu via Getty Images)
"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.
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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.
Cameron Arcand is a politics writer at Fox News Digital in Washington D.C. Story tips can be sent to Cameron.Arcand@Fox.com and on Twitter: @cameron_arcand
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/noems-unexpected-travel-solution-showcases-key-trump-policy-action