Trump administration dey offer migrant children $2,500 to voluntarily comot from US

Di Trump administration dey offer unaccompanied migrant children $2,500 to voluntarily comot from di United States, according to one letter wey dem send to migrant shelters, wey Reuters see.

Officials of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) under di Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confam say monetary offer dey ground but e no specify di amount, Reuters report.

Di move na di latest financial offer wey di DHS dey make under President Donald Trump - wey aim to encourage voluntary deportations.

For June, di State Department bin move $250 million to DHS for voluntary deportations and di administration bin offer $1,000 stipend to migrants wey "deport diasefs".

'Kids need protection, no be coercion'

According to di letter wey di DHS Office of Refugee Resettlement send to shelters on Friday, di department go provide "one-time resettlement support stipend of $2,500" to unaccompanied children of 14 years or older.

One Ice official say dem dey make di offer to 17 years old children first.

Minors from Mexico no dey eligible for di programme but children wey don already volunteer to comot from di US as of Friday go dey covered, di letter tok.

Wendy Young, president of Kids in Need of Defense, wey dey provide legal services and support to unaccompanied children, call di move "a cruel tactic" wey bin undermine "laws wey guarantee" process to determine if a child dey eligible for US protection.

"Unaccompanied children wey dey seek safety for di United States deserve our protection rather dan to dey coerced to agree to return back to di veri conditions wey bin place dia lives and safety at risk," Young tok for one statement.

According to federal law, migrant children wey arrive for US borders witout parent or legal guardian dey classified as unaccompanied and sent to federal govment-run shelters until dem fit dey placed wit family member or for foster care.

More dan 2,100 unaccompanied children bin dey di custody of di Department of Health and Human Services as of Thursday, according to department data.

HHS communications director Andrew Nixon tok for one statement say di programme dey "give UACs a choice and allow dem to make informed decision about dia future".

Any payment go dey provided afta immigration judge approve di request and di child arrive for dia kontri of origin, Nixon tok.

Di administration efforts to swiftly deport unaccompanied children don face legal challenges.

Last month, one federal judge bin order di administration to refrain from deporting unaccompanied Guatemalan migrant children wit active immigration cases while one legal challenge continue.

More dan 600,000 migrant children don cross di US-Mexico border witout parent or legal guardian since 2019, according to govment data.