DHS: Govt. has issued $84B in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in U.S. after receiving final orders of removal

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that it has already issued more than $84 billion in civil fines to illegal aliens who remain in the United States after receiving final orders of removal.

According to the agency, federal authorities have levied over 103,000 total fine notices against non-citizens and illegal aliens since the start of the Trump administration’s crackdown. The dynamic relies on “revived statutory penalty authorizing fines of up to $998 per day” for individuals who refuse to voluntarily depart the country after a deportation order becomes final.

The statutory framework permitting civil monetary penalties for failure to depart was originally established under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

However, according to analysts, the provision was rarely utilized by prior administrations due to the reality that most of these individuals subject to removal lacked the assets to pay. To overcome these challenges, the DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have reportedly “overhauled the enforcement framework.”

 

Under rules enacted in mid-2025, federal authorities eliminated a mandatory 30-day notice of intent, authorized immigration officers to mail direct fine notices via standard mail and shortened the window for individuals to contest or appeal penalties to just 15 business days.

Individual penalties issued under the policy are now much more steep, accumulating daily up to the five-year statutory limit, which can yield total personal fines exceeding $1.8 million per individual. To collect on these debts, the federal government has employed an approach involving civil lawsuits filed by the DOJ in federal district courts, wage garnishment, seizure of tax refunds and partnerships with private debt collection agencies.

Officials emphasize that these measures are intended to incentivize compliance with federal court orders, describing the financial penalties as an alternative to voluntary departure.

 

Alongside the financial measures, the Trump administration has structured an exit mechanism tied to its “CBP Home” app. Under current regulations, undocumented individuals who agree to self-deport using the app are granted complete forgiveness of all accrued civil fines, provided with a free return flight to their country of origin and issued a $2,600 exit bonus.

Our #1 goal is to keep our officers safe and get criminals OFF our streets. Illegal aliens will be arrested and deported wherever they are. If you are here illegally, LEAVE NOW. As our officers carry out operations to enforce our nations laws, they are facing a more than 1,300%… pic.twitter.com/dnI1YJAN3N

 — Secretary Markwayne Mullin (@SecMullinDHS) July 15, 2026

However, class-action lawsuits filed in federal court argue that the penalties “violate the 8^th Amendment’s protection against excessive fines,” as well as “5^th Amendment due process rights,” citing alleged instances where notices were sent to outdated addresses or applied to individuals with pending status applications.

Despite the litigation, the DHS has since maintained its position that the legal authority to assess penalties is grounded in statute, signaling that fine collection efforts and targeted lawsuits will “remain a pillar of federal immigration policy.”