A thousand dollars to do a Jojo

A thousand dollars to do a Jojo | Daily Tribune

A thousand dollars to get back to where you once belonged. Plus free airfare and meals.

Yes, it’s true. For $1,000 in cash and a one-way ticket, plus probably chump change for meals, the US government is giving undocumented immigrants the option to self-deport. Or to get back to where they once belonged, to rephrase an old Beatles tune about a man who thought he was a loner.

As an added incentive, applicants will be taken off the removal enforcement priority list, meaning they may not face the prospect of being arrested, humiliated, and detained.

As the old saying goes, if you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em.

On the flip side, the offer does not guarantee a clean slate as far as the applicant’s immigration court liability, if any, is concerned.

In other words, if an applicant has a pending deportation case and decides to avail of the self-departure program, the applicant is deemed to have abandoned the immigration court proceeding which can proceed in absentia, potentially resulting in the forfeiture of possible asylum or cancellation of the removal benefit, apart from being exposed to the risk of a prolonged or permanent re-entry bar.

And yet there are those who believe that taking advantage of the offer is a gambit worth pursuing, especially those who have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Indeed, to those who have recently crossed the border with no credible claim for asylum or workable pathway to legalization, with no dependable US relatives or foreseeable gainful employment, and who face the enormous risk of being summarily deported for being a recent arrival, getting $1,000 in cash plus a chance to fly back home via United or American, free of charge, is an attractive option.

Not only because most border-crossing immigrants in the US consider commercial air travel a middle-class luxury, but also because America is rapidly becoming a lonely place to be.

Indeed, like Jojo the loner in the infamous “Get Back” song of the Beatles, many undocumented immigrants in the US now think of themselves as living a lonely life hiding in the shadows, with immigration agents constantly breathing down their necks.

Their only fault? Leaving their Mexican homes near Tucson, Arizona for some California grass in pursuit of greener pastures.

On the other hand, some people may feel that a thousand bucks with free airfare is a cheap stimulus for giving up the land of milk and honey.

In fact, many undocumented immigrants, including most overstaying Filipinos, have full-time or part-time jobs, including such lucrative gigs as Uber or Lyft drivers, that can easily neutralize the financial incentive to self-deport.

Others have a more profound reason for giving it a miss, including the specter of a long-term family separation, the risk of being perpetually barred from reentering the country, or the fear that the US government may renege on its promise of a financial reward.

At this time, it remains to be seen what the overall reception to the US government’s self-deportation offer would be among the undocumented immigrant population in the country.

Will it succeed, or will it fizzle out? Only the Jojos can tell.