Trump's week in review: UK trade deal, illegal immigration crackdown, American pope

Illegal immigration crackdown and ‘financial travel assistance’

Crackdowns on illegal immigration featured prominently during the past week, with critics claiming the administration is failing to uphold constitutional due process.

The administration also announced $1,000 payments through an app for illegal immigrants who return home voluntarily, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

DHS noted that paying illegal aliens $1,000 to self-deport is cheaper than what the government pays to remove illegal aliens by force.

“Self-deportation is a dignified way to leave the U.S. and will allow illegal aliens to avoid being encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE),” according to DHS. “Even with the cost of the stipend, it is projected that the use of CBP Home will decrease the costs of a deportation by around 70 percent. Currently the average cost to arrest, detain, and remove an illegal alien is $17,121.”

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem described the “financial travel assistance” as “the safest option for our law enforcement, aliens and is a 70% savings for U.S. taxpayers.”

In an interview last week with NBC News, during which he was asked about due process, Trump noted he is “not a lawyer” and deferred to U.S. Supreme Court rulings.