Trump launches paid self-deportation program to end 'invasion'

Washington: President DonaldTrumpsigned an executive order Friday to create a federally funded self deportation program with paid flights and an exit...

Washington: President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to create a federally funded self-deportation program with paid flights and an "exit bonus" for any who seek to "voluntarily and permanently" leave the US.

In a statement posted to the White House's website, Trump lashed out at immigrants, blaming "a full-scale invasion" of those who stay in the US illegally for crime and violence.

"Illegal aliens who stay in America face punishments, including -- sudden deportation, in a place and manner solely of our discretion. TO ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS: BOOK YOUR FREE FLIGHT RIGHT NOW!" Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social.

The promise of a reward was followed by the threat of penalties for those deemed in violation of immigration law.

Anyone who does not self-deport, Trump said, can face "significant jail time, enormous financial penalties, confiscation of all property, garnishment of all wages, imprisonment and incarceration, and sudden deportation in a place and manner solely of our discretion."