The Trump administration has issued billions of dollars in fines against undocumented immigrants who have remained in the U.S. despite receiving deportation orders, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Since President Trump took office in January, immigration authorities have levied at least $6.1 billion in penalties. In some cases, individuals have been fined millions for remaining in the country years after being ordered to leave.
A total of 21,500 fines have been handed out, with penalties sometimes reaching nearly $1,000 for each day past a removal deadline. One example cited in the report involves a Brooklyn restaurant worker who was ordered to leave in 1998 but remained in the U.S. The individual was fined $1.8 million in June after daily penalties were applied retroactively.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has pursued collection of these fines through threats of lawsuits, involvement of debt collectors, and the imposition of IRS penalties, according to the Journal.
The administration is also reportedly offering incentives to those who choose to leave voluntarily. “It’s an easy choice: Leave voluntarily and receive a $1,000 check, or stay and wait till you are fined $1,000 a day, arrested, and deported without a possibility to return legally,” a senior DHS official told the newspaper.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the fines as a logical enforcement measure. “These fines are targeted toward illegal aliens who ignore removal orders and do not honor voluntary departure agreements,” she said.
However, critics argue the policy is designed to instill fear. Immigration attorney LaToya McBean Pompy described the strategy as “psychological warfare.” She said the approach is pushing undocumented immigrants to the brink, leaving them with the sense that self-deportation is their only option.
