Steve Cortes, founder of the League of American Workers, said that self-deportation policies will only be effective if supported by credible enforcement and financial deterrents such as taxing remittances. This statement was made on X.
“Exactly. Incentivizing self-deportations makes a lot of sense, but will only work if backed by the clear threat of compelled removals,” said Cortes. “Also, we need aggressive action on financial deportations, esp. massive taxes on remittances. Make life hard for illegals, better for citizens.”
In 2025, the Trump administration expanded “self-deportation” strategies by increasing fines, shortening grace periods, and offering travel incentives to undocumented immigrants. The goal was to encourage voluntary departures. According to The Atlantic, new technology and psychological pressure are central to this approach. However, critics question its effectiveness as only 3,000 confirmed self-deportations have occurred out of a targeted one million for the year.
The Daily Beast reports that under the Trump administration’s revised enforcement policies, more than 10,000 fines totaling an estimated $3 billion have been issued to undocumented immigrants since June 2025. Meanwhile, the CBP Home app has registered over 7,000 users for self-deportation; yet only about 3,000 have actually departed.
A Migration Policy Institute analysis found that remittance taxes in countries like Ecuador led to a 10–15 percent drop in formal money transfers abroad. In contrast, countries such as Mexico and India impose no such taxes. This suggests that remittance taxation in the U.S. could sharply reduce undocumented workers’ ability to send money home.
Cortes is also President of League of American Workers and senior political advisor to CatholicVote. He is a former senior advisor to President Trump and JD Vance and has been a commentator for Fox News and CNN. Cortes regularly releases documentaries and columns at cortesinvestigates.com.
