Donald Trump could pay migrants to leave US. Should UK be doing the same?
Cash stipends and one-way tickets to their home countries for migrants are already being offered by Sweden and America is considering a similar plan
By Kevin Cohen – Guest Columnist
10:18, Tue, Apr 22, 2025 | UPDATED: 10:18, Tue, Apr 22, 2025
In a move as characteristically provocative as it is strategically audacious, President Donald Trump has reignited America's immigration debate four months into his current term. His latest proposal involves offering undocumented migrants modest cash stipends and one-way plane tickets to voluntarily leave the US. Not forced deportation, but voluntary departure incentivised economically. While innovative in its American context, Trump's proposal bears some resemblance – albeit limited – to initiatives recently pursued by Sweden.
His latest move targets the core of America’s contentious immigration debate by providing financial incentives – direct stipends and airfare – to encourage voluntary exits of undocumented migrants. Critics swiftly branded the plan populist and simplistic. Yet a parallel, although notably different, policy has emerged quietly in Northern Europe, where Sweden has begun offering significant financial incentives – up to 350,000 Swedish kronor (£27,000) – for migrants, including legal residents and naturalised citizens, to voluntarily return to their countries of origin starting in 2026. Sweden adopted this financially-incentivised repatriation policy after decades of liberal immigration practices.
https://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/2044777/donald-trump-pay-migrants-US
