The Department of Homeland Security is leaning into the holiday season with a message that blends cash incentives and coercion: take the money and leave, or stay and face the consequences.

On Monday, DHS announced it will offer undocumented immigrants a $3,000 stipend if they agree to “self-deport” from the United States by the end of the year. The incentive, promoted as a limited-time holiday offer, triples the previous $1,000 payment and includes travel assistance for those who enroll through the government’s CBP Home app.

The announcement came paired with a blunt warning from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.

“Leave,” she said, or “we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will never return.”

According to DHS, migrants who use the app to register their departure may also qualify for forgiveness of civil fines or penalties tied to overstaying or failing to leave the country. Noem’s statement described the program as a gift from taxpayers, timed deliberately to expire at year’s end.

Critics say the messaging is anything but generous.

The department has already drawn condemnation for turning immigration enforcement into a holiday-themed marketing campaign. Earlier promotions described the original $1,000 incentive as an “exit gift” in a Cyber Monday-style post. Over the weekend, DHS shared a montage of Christmas movie scenes — including clips from Elf, The Santa Clause, and Die Hard — under the caption “Christmas After Mass Deportations.”

Immigration advocates and Catholic leaders have rebuked the approach as dehumanizing and fear-driven. Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, warned that the administration’s rhetoric is sowing anxiety in migrant communities.

“In communities with a more dense migrant population, there is a great deal of fear and uncertainty,” he said, pointing to the psychological toll of constant threats of removal.

The self-deportation app itself has been controversial since its launch in March. It allows individuals suspected of being in the country illegally to notify the government when they plan to leave — a feature introduced after the administration shut down a previous app that facilitated legal entry into the U.S.

To critics, the shift is symbolic: legal doors closed, exit lanes widened.

Supporters of the policy argue the incentive saves taxpayer money and speeds removals without the cost of detention or court proceedings. Opponents counter that the choice being offered is illusory — cash now, or lifelong exile later.

As Christmas approaches, the administration appears determined to frame immigration enforcement as both festive and final. For those caught in the middle, the message is stark: take the bonus, or brace for the knock.