Violent protests in Los Angeles over the arrests of people for violating U.S. immigration laws have resulted in a similarly intimidating reaction over the weekend: The Trump administration deployed the National Guard in the city to defend federal property and officers. Both responses set a new low in the nation’s ability to resolve the debate over unauthorized migrants – an issue that was the second most important one for Republican voters in the 2024 presidential election after inflation.
Yet even as the forceful arrests, fiery protests, and questionable use of guard members stay in the news, a different and peaceful approach has taken hold in recent weeks: the voluntary return of unauthorized migrants to their countries of origin – with many possibly able to seek legal entry to the United States.
“I wanted to see my family and my mom,” one returnee, Kevin Antonio Posadas, told The Associated Press. After living in Houston for three years, he went back to Honduras on May 16 with a $1,000 debit card from the U.S. government and an offer to someday apply for a U.S. visa. The administration claims thousands of migrants have taken up an offer to “self-deport.”
In early May, the White House teamed up with an arm of the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, to provide “support to those who choose to return, helping them make a life-changing decision with care and clarity,” as the IOM puts it.
The Switzerland-based IOM, founded after World War II, has a track record of helping many countries strengthen their rule of law by aiding migrants to return home safely and willingly, making sure they have the support to start a new life. It has assisted the return of more than 1.5 million people over the past few decades, claiming its “rights-based” method allows migrants “to regain agency and make informed decisions.” In addition, governments can save money by avoiding the removal of migrants through adversarial legal proceedings.
Many migrants in the U.S., of course, have planted roots. Some await asylum hearings. They are unlikely to return to their home country. But if a system of voluntary returns grows, it may lay the groundwork for a consensus in Congress to deal with the complex issues of migration.
Or, as the IOM puts it, “Robust, well-run return systems are essential to maintaining the integrity of migration and asylum policies in support of States’ sovereign right to regulate migration.”
