US offers money to migrant teens to give up asylum

According to sources familiar with the plan, minors who agree to leave the US, after approval by an immigration judge, would receive $2,500.

The program is set to start with 17-year-old migrants, but immigration lawyers and child advocates fear it could extend to younger teens, possibly as young as 14. Critics warn the initiative risks pressuring children into withdrawing asylum claims or other protection requests, undermining legal safeguards that typically prevent their deportation until adulthood.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, confirmed it is developing a program offering $2,500 to unaccompanied migrant teenagers who voluntarily agree to return to their home countries. Officials say the initiative is designed to give minors arriving in the US without families options to make informed decisions about their future.

HHS stressed that the program is voluntary and meant to empower children to decide whether to remain in the US or return home.

But child advocates and human rights groups sharply condemned the proposal. Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, called it a gross abuse of power, warning that it undermines US laws designed to protect vulnerable minors from violence, trafficking, abuse, and persecution. She urged the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to halt the initiative immediately.

Immigration lawyers fear the offer could pressure teens into abandoning asylum claims or other legal protections, especially since minors in custody do not always have guaranteed legal representation.

As of August 2025, about 2,000 unaccompanied children remained under HHS care, with the government overseeing their placement, protection, and potential return through specialized programs.