Leave now, self-deport: US’s 30-day warning to foreign nationals for registration

Foreign nationals who are living in the US for more than 30 days must register with the government and a failure to do so can attract fines and imprisonment, the Donald Trump administration has said.

In a post titled ‘message to illegal aliens’, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stressed the need for self-deportation.

“Foreign nationals present in the US for longer than 30 days must register with the federal government. Failure to comply is a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment,” it said in a tweet on Saturday.

“@POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem have a clear message to Illegal aliens: Leave now and self-deport,” it said, tagging President Donald Trump’s office and Kristi Noem, the Secretary of DHS.

The DHS warned that if foreign nationals did not register or self-deport, they would be immediately deported “with no opportunity to get your affairs in order beforehand”.

It said that a fine of USD 998 per day (approx Rs 85,924) will be levied on those who stay beyond 30 days if they receive a final order to self-deport.

A fine of USD 1,000-5,000 (approx Rs 86,096 to Rs 4.30 lakh) will be imposed on those foreign nationals who fail to self-deport after informing the authorities that they will do so.

If foreign nationals fail to self-deport, they may be subjected to imprisonment and will be barred from reentering the US through the legal immigration system.

The DHS listed out the benefits of self-deportation, saying that foreign nationals can leave on their terms by choosing their departure flights and keep their money earned in the US if they did not have any criminal background.

The post said that self-deportation will keep open a future opportunity for legal immigration and such deportees may also be eligible for a subsidised flight if they cannot afford to leave.

The Trump administration has been cracking down on illegal immigration since the Republican took office in January and several illegal deportees, including Indian deportees, have been sent back to their homes on special deportation flights.

As part of this intensified crackdown, the US has already deported three groups of Indian nationals, totaling 332 individuals, back to India. A political row had erupted in India as visuals showed the illegal Indian immigrants in shackles.