The Trump administration will begin fining immigrants up to $998 per day if they fail to leave the country after receiving a removal order from a judge. The increased penalties are being implemented by the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to — in their words — make it “easier and more efficient” to fine immigrants who are in the country unlawfully.
“The law doesn’t enforce itself; there must be consequences for breaking it,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “Financial penalties like these are just one more reason why illegal aliens should use CBP Home to self-deport now before it’s too late.”
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An old fine, newly enforced
Congress created the fines in 1996 with the Immigration Reform Act. When the law was passed, the fine was $500 per day, and it was rarely enforced. Now, the fines will be enforced, and the Trump administration is adjusting them for inflation, which is allowed under federal law.
Immigration officers will be allowed to send fines by regular mail, and the immigrant will have 15 business days to file an appeal. Previously, the fines had to be either hand delivered or sent via certified mail, and the recipient had 30 days to appeal.
According to DHS, the fines apply to three main groups:
- Immigrants in the country unlawfully
- Immigrants who either ignore or delay a court-ordered removal
- Immigrants who don’t honor agreements to leave the country voluntarily
The new fines being implemented are:
- $100 to $500 for unlawful entry
- $1,992 to $9,970 for failing to honor a voluntary departure order
- Up to $998 per day for wilfully failing to comply with a removal order
‘Financial ruin’
Immigrants’ rights advocates expressed concern about the new process and said it will likely be challenged in court.
The border and beyond
There are at least 1.4 million people in the United States with a final order for removal, according to the American Immigration Council.
There are at least 1.4 million people in the United States with a final order for removal, according to the American Immigration Council.
“Should the administration use this new power aggressively, they could potentially seek to impose exorbitant fines on all of them, with far less due process than ever before,” American Immigration Council Senior Fellow Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote. “That could put people in serious risk of financial ruin on top of deportation — a fate that is likely to further create fear in immigration communities nationwide.”
A seven-figure penalty
In May, ICE fined a woman from Honduras $1.8 million for failing to leave the country after receiving a removal order in April 2005. The woman now lives in Florida with three children who are U.S. citizens, although she remains undocumented. She entered the country illegally in California and later failed to appear at an immigration court hearing, resulting in an automatic order for removal.
