(NewsNation) — A 2013 Harvard University graduate living in Texas made the tough decision to self-deport to Mexico with his husband, a U.S. citizen.
Hernandez-Corona said he feared being apprehended by immigration officials, which prompted his decision to leave the country with his husband, Irving Hernandez-Corona. He said he stopped driving his car out of caution.
“I have no criminal record,” said Hernandez-Corona. “I have a work permit. I wasn’t in a situation where I felt like, I’m going to be deported tomorrow.”
At age 11, Hernandez-Corona’s father paid smugglers to bring him across the border illegally.
“Somewhere on the border, a random group of people that I never met — again, I’m a child — and they told us we’re going to cross the desert,” he added. “And it’s going to be long, and it’s going to take a lot of time. Second to my mom passing away, it’s the most traumatizing thing I’ve ever been through.”
Hernandez-Corona said that when he decided to self-deport, he bought a plane ticket back to Mexico and left out of fear that he would be sent to a different country.
The Department of Homeland Security recently announced that migrants using the CBP One App to self-deport would receive a $1,000 travel stipend upon returning to their home country.
There is no exact number on how many migrants have self-deported in this way, outside of official programs.
The DHS confirmed to NewsNation that thousands of migrants have now used the CBP Home App. Last week, they unveiled the first Project Homecoming charter flight, which brought 64 migrants who had opted to self-deport back to Honduras and Colombia. Since the start of 2025, more than 10,000 would-be immigrants have reversed course and obtained boats from Panama to Colombia to self-deport themselves.
Hernandez-Corona is currently barred from reentering the United States due to his immigration status.
Since self-deporting, he and his husband have settled in Puerto Vallarta.