Migrants and Democrats are skeptical of Noem's $200 million 'self-deportation' TV ad campaign

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says a new $200 million TV ad campaign is prompting undocumented immigrants to self-deport. Critics question its cost and effectiveness.

Last month, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised a new Trump administration effort to persuade undocumented immigrants to return to their homelands on their own. She said a new two-year, $200 million television ad campaign, a $1,000 cash stipend to pay for plane tickets home and a new “CBP Home” app were prompting undocumented people to self-deport.

“If they wait until we arrest them and we remove them, they’ll never get the chance to come back to the United States,” Noem said when she was asked about the program at a news conference. “We know thousands and thousands of people have used the app.”

Migrants and Democrats, though, question the effectiveness of the campaign, which remains unclear six months after its launch. Noem, who promised last month to release the exact number of people who have self-deported using the app, hasn’t done so.

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to repeated requests for the figures.

Democrats question the cost of the TV ads, as well. And undocumented migrants and advocates told NBC News they don’t trust Noem, her ads and Customs and Border Protection’s new CBP Home app.