Self-Deportation
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement enforces immigration laws inside the United States. Those enforcement duties include arresting, detaining and removing aliens who are illegally present in the United States.
If you’re illegally present in the U.S., you don’t have to — and shouldn’t — wait for ICE officials to arrest you. Instead, you can leave on your own terms.
What is Self-Deportation?
Self-deportation is the act of leaving the U.S. on your own initiative when you’re illegally present.
Who’s Illegally Present in the U.S.?
If you’re in the U.S. for any period of time — an hour, a month or 50 years — without being admitted or paroled, or for any length of time after your authorized period of stay expires, you’re illegally present.
The Immigration and Nationality Act defines whose presence in the U.S. is illegal. ICE enforces this law.
Self-Deportation Fact Sheet
Self-Removal Basics
If you’re illegally present in the U.S., you can leave at any time. You don’t have to wait for ICE officials to find, arrest, detain and remove you. You can plan and organize your affairs.
If ICE officials arrest you, there’s no going back — you may not have time to get your affairs in order, gather your belongings, or even say goodbye to the people you care about.
You do not need to turn yourself in to an ICE office if you intend to self-deport. You may simply leave the country. If ICE arrests you because you didn’t turn yourself in, the agency will detain and remove you — and you may have to spend several months in detention while you’re awaiting removal.
If you’re already in proceedings before a Department of Justice immigration judge, leaving may result in a bar to reentry, which means you may not be able to return to the U.S. for a specific period of time.
ICE may agree to seek dismissal of removal proceedings if you prove you left the U.S. on your own — and that way, you may be able to avoid getting a final order of removal (and the negative consequences that come with it).
How Do You “Self-Deport”?
Self-deporting simply means you leave the U.S. before you encounter immigration officials. Everyone’s process is different. You may want to let your employer, your friends, and your family know you’re leaving. You may also want to help find support for the people you care about, pack up the things you’d like to bring with you, or make living arrangements for the next phase of your journey.
Remember, if ICE officials arrest you, you may not have an opportunity to do any of these things. Immediately after ICE arrests you, you’ll go to detention for proceedings before an immigration judge — or, if you already have a final order of removal, ICE will remove you.
If You Don’t Self-Deport
ICE uses its resources to find, arrest and detain aliens who are in the U.S. illegally. The agency conducts routine daily operations and enhanced enforcement operations — sometimes with hundreds of federal law enforcement officials working together to find aliens who aren’t authorized to be in the country.
Most aliens ICE arrests are detained and eventually removed. In some cases, these people remain in ICE detention for months while they wait for a final decision from an immigration judge.
Removal comes with other consequences, too, including bars to reentry. Bars to reentry are penalties for violating U.S. immigration law. Being barred from reentry means the U.S. government won’t let you come back into the U.S. — even for a short visit. You can be barred from reentry for three years, 10 years, or even permanently.