The Department of Homeland Security has issued tens of thousands of civil fines to undocumented immigrants under the Trump administration, according to a Fox Digital report, with the penalties totaling billions of dollars and generating significant payments.
Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House about 18 months ago, DHS has issued 103,000 civil fines totaling approximately $84 billion, a DHS official told Fox News Digital. The agency had collected about $1.2 billion in fine payments as of July.
Shortly after Trump began his second term, the Trump administration announced it would begin fining illegal immigrants, subject to final removal orders, $998 per day if they failed to voluntarily leave the United States or otherwise comply with their removal orders. The administration had unveiled a series of measures designed to encourage illegal immigrants to leave the country, including DHS’ announcement that those who refuse to self-deport could face “significant financial penalty.”
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DHS said that the program costs significantly less than traditional deportation proceedings and is designed to encourage illegal immigrants to voluntarily leave the United States.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a flyer outlining the “benefits and consequences” for illegal immigrants who self-deport using the CBP Home app. “Self-deportation is safe,” the flyer stated. “Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight.”
DHS stated that non-criminal illegal immigrants who voluntarily leave the United States may keep the money they earned while in the country and preserve eligibility to pursue legal immigration in the future. Some of them may also qualify for subsidized flights if they cannot afford travel home. The flyer also warned that those who fail to self-deport will be “apprehended by DHS with no opportunity to get your affairs in order beforehand.”
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In May, Fox News Digital had reported that more than 3 million illegal immigrants had left the United States during Trump’s first year back in office, according to figures provided by DHS. An estimated 2.2 million of those migrants self-deported, according to the department.
DHS also mentioned that the administration had deported nearly 900,000 illegal immigrants and arrested more than 900,000 others as of May 17.
Back in May, authorities said they are preparing to fine tens of thousands of migrants for the cost of arresting, detaining and deporting them, under a new policy that will also make it harder for them to return legally to the United States. White House officials have previously said such fines are intended to encourage people to voluntarily self-deport.