$998 Daily Fines, Property Seizures: Trump Administration Plans Action Against Illegal Immigrants — Report
US President Donald Trump's administration is planning to fine migrants under deportation orders up to $998 a day if they fail to leave the United States and also to seize their property, reports news agency Reuters, quoting documents. The report mentions that the fine stems from a 1996 law that was enforced for the first time in the year 2018 during the first term of President Donald Trump in 2018. The Trump administration plans to apply the penalties retroactively for up to five years, which could result in fines of more than $1 million, a senior Trump official said, requesting anonymity to discuss non-public plans.
The administration is also planning to seize the property of the immigrants who do not pay the fines, reports Reuters.
The US Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that the immigrants in the US illegally should use a mobile app formerly known as CBP One—rebranded as CBP Home under Trump—to "self-deport and leave the country now."
"If they don’t, they will face the consequences," McLaughlin said. "This includes a fine of $998 per day for every day that the illegal alien overstayed their final deportation order."
According to the emails reviewed by news agency Reuters, the White House has pressed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to handle the issue of penalties, property seizures for migrants who don't pay, and the sale of their assets. The Department of Justice’s civil asset forfeiture division could be another option for the seizures, one email said.
US President Donald Trump's administration kicked off a sweeping immigration crackdown after taking office in January. The planned fines target roughly 1.4 million migrants who have been ordered removed by an immigration judge.
During the first tenure of Donald Trump, the US president invoked the 1996 law to levy fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars against nine migrants seeking sanctuary in churches. The penalties were withdrawn by the administration, but then it proceeded with smaller fines of about $60,000 per person against at least four of the migrants, according to court records.
President Joe Biden stopped issuing the fines and rescinded, opens new tab, related policies when he took office in 2021.
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