According to a report, the Trump administration intends to impose a significant fine on migrants who refuse to leave the United States after being cleared for deportation.
In the latest push in President Donald Trump’s efforts to achieve the “largest deportation operation” in American history, immigrants will be fined up to $998 per day if they do not leave the country, according to documents obtained by Reuters. If they fail to pay the fine, their property may be seized, according to the potential plans.
“Illegal aliens should use the CBP Home app to self-deport and leave the country immediately. If they don’t, they will suffer the consequences.
“This includes a fine of $998 per day for each day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Independent. “The safest option for illegal aliens is to self-deport.”
The plans stem from a 1996 federal law that states that any immigrant subject to a “final order of removal” who “willfully fails or refuses” to leave the United States may face a civil penalty of “not more than $500” per day.
However, the administration proposed retroactively applying the penalties for up to five years, potentially resulting in fines exceeding $1 million, according to a senior Trump official.
The report comes one week after the Department of Homeland Security issued a warning to illegal immigrants to “self-deport” before the agency apprehended and deported them. People who self-deport can legally re-enter the United States at a later date, whereas those who are deported cannot.
The warning included the threat of a $998 per-day fine, a $1,000 to $5,000 fine “if you fail to self-deport after claiming that you will” or jail time.
These proposed fines may be unbearable for nearly one-third of unauthorized migrants; 26 percent have family incomes below the poverty line, according to a 2019 Migration Policy Institute study.
According to Reuters, Customs and Border Protection would be in charge of issuing the penalties and seizing the assets.
During his first term, Trump used the 1996 law in 2018 against nine immigrants who refused to leave the country after being deported, ordering them to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. His administration later rescinded the majority of the fines or sought smaller amounts.
The news comes just one day after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members under a 1798 wartime law. On Monday, the Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order requiring Trump to bring back an illegally deported Maryland father who was imprisoned in El Salvador.
