What Happened?
As of July, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had issued more than 103,000 fines totaling more than $84 billion to immigrants for immigration-related violations, including failure to depart. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) examined immigration enforcement fines for immigrants with final removal orders in a report.
The failure-to-depart penalty dates to 1996, when Congress set the maximum at $500 per day for each day an immigrant stays after a final removal order. Adjusted for inflation, that daily rate now reaches roughly $998.
The authority sat largely unused for decades until the first Trump administration began enforcing it in 2018, and the Biden administration later revoked the penalties before they were reinstated.
Why Does it Matter to Me?
DHS has said unpaid fines will be considered a discretionary factor when it reviews applications for immigration benefits such as green cards, and DHS has reportedly begun garnishing wages and tax refunds and pursuing property seizures from people with unpaid fines. Individual immigrants have faced fines ranging from hundreds of thousands of dollars to $1.8 million per person, according to Public Justice.
DHS is also offering an exit incentive: immigrants who use the CBP Home smartphone app to signal their intent to leave voluntarily can receive free transportation home, a one-time $2,600 payment, and forgiveness of any outstanding fines.
Both Sides, Now
Executive Order 14159 directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to assess and collect all authorized fines and penalties, and Congress set a $5,000 minimum fee, effective Sept. 8, 2025, for immigrants ordered removed in absentia who are later arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while DHS has proposed raising that fee to $18,000.
Opponents say the program is unlawful and unfair. On Oct. 5, a Massachusetts federal judge found the challenged rule likely unlawful and temporarily blocked the Trump administration from imposing the penalties in a case brought by immigrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
Critics also point to a rule published in the Federal Register on June 27, 2025, in which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cut the time to appeal a fine from 30 days to 15 days and allowed notices to be sent by regular mail instead of requiring personal service or certified mail.
What Happens Next?
A lawsuit challenging the fines has been filed in Massachusetts federal district court, and the case could help determine how far the administration can go in using the authority.
DHS has reportedly collected only $1.2 million of the more than $84 billion in fines it has issued to immigrants. In May, DHS proposed raising the inflation-adjusted $5,130 in absentia arrest fee to $18,000.
Will the courts allow the administration to enforce fines of this scale, or will the legal challenge permanently limit how far immigration enforcement fines can reach?
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