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The Trump administration is 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.Department of Homeland Security officials acknowledge they will likely never collect most of the new $18,000 fines to be levied on each of more than 23,000 people annually. Among the reasons: The annual per capita household income in Mexico is only $5,000, according to the London-based analysis and data firm ISI Markets.But White House officials have previously said such fines are intended to encourage people to voluntarily self-deport."Our message is clear: Illegal aliens in the country illegally should leave now or face consequences," Homeland Security officials told USA TODAY.DHS published the proposed fee increase in the Federal Register on May 20. The agency is soliciting public comments about the change until June 22.Congress ordered DHS to begin charging the fines last year. Federal officials are proposing raising them from $5,130 to $18,000 after assessing estimates to track down, arrest, detain and deport a single person.DHS officials have previously increased different fines 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 USA TODAY 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 will be issued against people ordered "removed in absentia," which generally means they received a final deportation order after missing a court hearing. 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 the people potentially covered by the new fines are those 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.Immigrant advocacy groups say the new policy is part of a deliberate effort by the Trump administration to criminalize virtually every migrant in the United States, including those 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. Many people covered by this new fine, she said, 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, said the new fines do nothing to improve the immigration system. He added they also don't increase compliance by 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," said Reichlin-Melnick, whose organization lobbies for migrant rights and provides free legal services to those who cannot afford immigration attorneys.The fee increase comes as the Trump administration arrests more people showing up for court appearances. The White House acknowledges that it drove down court attendance. Under the law, people who are facing deportation generally cannot be deported while their immigration cases are pending, but missing a single court hearing means an immigration judge can immediately order them deported.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," he 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 fee increase accompanies a surge in immigration enforcement under Trump's second administration. In 2022, there were 62,510 people ordered deported in absentia. That 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 and 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.
