A Democrat senator from a border state is pitching an alternative to the Trump administration’s financial bonus to illegal aliens who self-deport, and it sounds a lot like amnesty.
On Monday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the “historic opportunity” for those who use the CBP Home App to set up a return to their home country would be eligible for travel assistance as well as a $1,000 stipend once their arrival has been confirmed, a generous offer from the federal government.
But Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has another idea that, while fining illegal aliens $5,000, would reward them with a work visa, allowing them to stay in the U.S. indefinitely.
Why don’t we make them pay a $5k fine, go through a background check and give them a work visa for a few years, renewable with good behavior. https://t.co/9xobe9oF1N
— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) May 5, 2025
“Why don’t we make them pay a $5k fine, go through a background check and give them a work visa for a few years, renewable with good behavior,” the hot-tempered leftist proposed in a post to X.
In defending his idea, Gallego said that taxpayers shouldn’t be on the hook for the fine and expressed openness to it being higher in response to another user. “It can be higher. It just needs to work able,” he wrote.
“I live in a Latino neighborhood, my family are immigrants. 5k is not that much too them. You tell them 5k gets them security to stay in this county they will work extra jobs to pay it,” the senator added. What he didn’t say is that there would be plenty of NGOs and even the cartels that would gladly pony up the money to keep the illegals inside the U.S.
X users pushed back against the Democrats’ amnesty scheme, yet another angle to prevent their future voters from being sent back to where they belong.
Rewarding illegal behavior only encourages more of it. This amounts to de facto amnesty—one that has negatively impacted wages for working Americans and placed added strain on housing and healthcare systems. We need to stop incentivizing illegal immigration. https://t.co/y4QxB06dbq
— Project for Immigration Reform (@PFIRorg) May 6, 2025
Because that is like opening a back door to the immigration process and hanging a $5,000 entry sign above it — which is almost exactly what human traffickers do.
— Ann Bauer (@annbauerwriter) May 6, 2025
Let me get this straight: you’re telling people who are following the legal path to citizenship that you want illegal immigrants to pay $5,000 to skip the line—even though they broke the law. Got it.
— I Meme Therefore I Am (@ImMeme0) May 5, 2025
Is that what your cartel bosses told you to say??
— Guitarslinger (@guitarslinger_7) May 6, 2025
Where are they going to get the $5k from anyway? The Cartels, that’s who. So on top of the money they owe to be smuggled into the country, which makes them lifelong indebted to a terrorist organization, they’ll add another $5k (with massive interest) on top of it. Great idea ♂️
— Someone Important (@justimportant2) May 5, 2025
Why would they need a “background check” when for the last four years your party told us that everyone coming into the country has already been vetted?
— Pima County Republican Party (@RealPimaGOP) May 6, 2025
We don’t need anymore criminals in our country. We already have you and your friends in DC. https://t.co/eZheWohsDh
— Jeff Nelson (@jeffreym_nelson) May 5, 2025
Because if they are back home in El Salvador they don’t count towards the Democrat House seats here in the US, and the Democrats lose 20-30 seats.
— Law of Self Defense (@LawSelfDefense) May 6, 2025
Why don’t we deport them. No excuses. They broke the law, they knew they did when it happened, and they didn’t self deport when given the chance. Ruben, exactly how much $$ do you pocket from the Mexican Cartels?
— Chris Bowley (@SoxFanInPA2) May 6, 2025
This is the same as saying that if you don’t want to be raped just consent instead
— Emmie (@SullivanStar221) May 6, 2025
“Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the U.S. and will allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Even with the cost of the stipend, it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70 percent,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a Monday press release.
“If you are here illegally, self-deportation is the best, safest, and most cost-effective way to leave the United States to avoid arrest. DHS is now offering illegal aliens financial travel assistance and a stipend to return to their home country through the CBP Home App,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said. “This is the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens, and is a 70% savings for US taxpayers. Download the CBP Home App TODAY and self-deport.”
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