Federal judge blocks fines imposed by Trump administration on migrants

<p>A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's attempts to fine migrants up to $1.8 million for failing to leave the country after receiving final deportation orders.</p><p>U.S. District Judge George O'Toole in Boston issued the ruling on Monday in response to a class-action lawsuit filed last year by two migrants who received civil penalties from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).</p><p>The judge granted preliminary relief to the plaintiffs, finding that the administration's process for imposing the fines violated federal law, and that migrants in an "economically precarious position" could be pushed into "insolvency."</p><p>"The plaintiffs live in an economically precarious position even without the imposition of the government’s exorbitant fines," he wrote.</p><p>O'Toole noted that the plaintiffs could face garnishment of wages, loss of vehicles and homes, federal collections lawsuits, and other adverse consequences. He stated, "If they were ultimately successful in this suit, there is no indication that simply requiring the government to vacate their fine notices would –– or even could, at that point –– make the plaintiffs whole or return the circumstances to the status quo."</p><p>O'Toole, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, described how the plaintiffs worked for low salaries and had come to the U.S. to escape political violence.</p><p>"Nancy M. was fined over $1.8 million," O'Toole wrote, referring to one of the plaintiffs. "She is a laborer working over 60 hours a week with two jobs, and she reports feeling serious anxiety affecting her ability to sleep, eat and live a normal life."</p><p>The judge also found that the administration's fine notices violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to provide specific allegations explaining why an individual's conduct warranted a penalty.</p><p>As of July, DHS reported issuing more than 103,000 fines to migrants totaling about $84 billion since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.</p><p>DHS has defended the penalties, stating that individuals who refuse to leave the country after receiving a final order of removal could face fines of $998 per day.</p><p>Although Congress authorized civil penalties under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, no administration had attempted to impose the fines until Trump's first term.</p><p>Last year, the Trump administration began imposing fines of $998 per day for migrants who did not leave the country following a final order of deportation. The fines have been imposed retroactively for up to five years, with a maximum penalty of $1.8 million.</p><p>In July 2025, DHS and the Department of Justice implemented changes aimed at streamlining the assessment of fines by eliminating a 30-day notice period and shortening the process for challenging penalties.</p><p>The plaintiffs successfully challenged that policy and what they described as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy of issuing fines using boilerplate forms without independently assessing whether a person's failure to leave was "willful" or "voluntary."</p><p>O'Toole also found that the administration had failed to comply with rulemaking processes in implementing its streamlined fine-imposition process because it did not offer the public a chance to comment on the policy change.</p><p>Congressional lawmakers have attempted to challenge the administration’s fines against migrants through the Immigration and Nationality Act. Senators Alex Padilla, D-Calif., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., urged DHS and DOJ to pause the "improper application of certain civil penalties" in the law to "law-abiding immigrants."</p>