The Trump administration has published a proposed rule to raise immigration-related civil fines to $18,000 for more than 23,000 migrants each year, including people ordered removed “in absentia.” While Homeland Security frames the fees as a way to push volunta
For a growing share of migrants facing deportation, the next deadline may not be a courtroom date—it could be a bill.
The Trump administration has published a proposed policy that would raise a civil fine to $18. 000 for each person ordered “removed in absentia. ” a category that generally applies when someone receives a final deportation order after missing a court hearing. The Department of Homeland Security is also preparing a new enforcement push that ICE says could reach more than 40 states. including Puerto Rico.
DHS officials acknowledge that collecting most of the new fines may be unlikely. They point to economic realities: the annual per capita household income in Mexico is only $5,000, according to the London-based analysis and data firm ISI Markets.
“Our message is clear: Illegal aliens in the country illegally should leave now or face consequences,” Homeland Security officials told MISRYOUM.
The proposed fee increase was published in the Federal Register on May 20, with public comments requested until June 22.
The price tag is set by Congress and DHS calculations. Federal officials say Congress ordered DHS to begin charging the fines last year, and the current proposal would raise them from $5,130 to $18,000 after assessing estimates to track down, arrest, detain and deport a single person.
DHS has increased related fines before, including different fees for illegally crossing the U.S. border, for refusing to leave once ordered to do so, and for not leaving after promising a judge they would.
Federal officials told MISRYOUM they have issued $36 billion in fines to about 65,000 people from Jan. 20, 2025, to March 18 of this year. They did not immediately say how many had paid those fines, which average about $553,000 per person.
The new fines would be levied against people ordered removed in absentia. Last year, immigration judges ordered more than 300,000 people removed in absentia, and about 23,670 were ultimately detained and set for deportation.
Among those potentially covered by the new fee are people who entered the United States legally but overstayed a student or tourist visa, and those who entered the country under an asylum claim but were later ordered to leave.
Critics say the policy is meant to punish more broadly than its paperwork suggests. Immigrant advocacy groups argue the plan is part of a deliberate effort to criminalize virtually every migrant in the United States, including people who arrived lawfully under different presidential administrations.
“Putting this fine or bounty on people’s heads makes it feel even more like they’re a fugitive from justice. ” said Sarah Mehta. the deputy director of policy and government affairs for the ACLU’s equality division. “Overall, the goal is to terrify people and make them feel they have to leave as soon as they can.”.
Mehta urged the White House to work with Congress on a pathway for people who want to become legal permanent U.S. residents. She said many of those covered by the fines have fled “horrific” violence and persecution in their home countries.
“They are already overwhelmingly working and paying taxes and contributing to our communities,” she said.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, argued the new fines do not improve the immigration system. He also said the fees do not increase compliance among people who might have missed a hearing because they never got the court notice or because they couldn’t understand what was happening.
“Effective enforcement means creating a system people can actually comply with, not just ratcheting up ever-bigger punishments when they can’t,” Reichlin-Melnick said. His organization lobbies for migrant rights and provides free legal services to those who cannot afford immigration attorneys.
The proposed fee increase arrives as the Trump administration acknowledges it has pushed court attendance down. Under the law, people facing deportation generally cannot be deported while their immigration cases are pending. But a missed court hearing can allow an immigration judge to order deportation immediately.
Nicolas Chavez, an immigration attorney based in Texas, said some people are skipping mandatory court hearings and taking their chances rather than facing immediate detention and almost-certain deportation.
One of his clients, he said, received a notice for a $1.8 million fine last year because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement backdated it to a decades-old removal order she never knew about.
“Many of these immigrants believe they will not receive a meaningful opportunity to present their case before a judge and decide it’s better not to show up. ” Chavez said. “Increasing civil fines appears less like a solution and more like a response to a problem the government itself helped create through aggressive tactics and fear-based messaging.”.
The administration’s broader crackdown is also expanding. ICE deployments could reach over 40 states. DHS said it plans to deploy about 330 people to cities in more than 40 states, along with Puerto Rico, aiming to bolster immigration enforcement in both big cities and tiny towns.
This surge in enforcement is not new. The Trump administration’s second term has seen a sharp rise in people ordered removed in absentia. In 2022, there were 62,510 people ordered deported in absentia. That number more than tripled to 223,000 in 2024, according to DHS statistics.
After taking office, the Trump administration repurposed the Biden-era CBP One app by renaming it CBP Home. It began offering cash bonuses for people who self-deported. Under Biden, migrants could use the app to apply for asylum, a practice the Trump White House ended.
The self-deportation payment is now $2,600 per person, payable once they certify they’ve left the United States. People who agree to self-deport can also have their fines forgiven. Homeland Security officials said more than 100,000 people have used the app to leave the United States.
Taken together. the administration’s approach turns deportation into a sequence of choices with steep financial consequences—especially for those who miss a single court appearance. including cases tied to backdated orders or court notices people say they never received. And even as officials argue the fines are meant to push voluntary self-deportation. DHS acknowledges it expects to collect only a fraction of the total amount it intends to levy.
Trump administration DHS ICE migrants deportation fines $18 000 Federal Register removed in absentia CBP Home self-deportation immigration enforcement ACLU American Immigration Council