U.S. — The Department of Homeland Security proposed increasing the civil penalty for immigrants with in absentia removal orders from $5,130 to $18,000 in May 2026. An in absentia removal order is issued when an individual does not appear before an immigration judge.

A 1996 law allows fines for some immigrants who remain in the U.S. past a deportation order. The Trump administration began issuing fines to immigrants with deportation orders in 2025. As of May 2026, the federal government had issued more than 65,000 fines, totaling over $36 billion. Some individual fines reached $1.8 million, calculated at $998 per day for the statutory maximum of five years.

The Department of Justice began filing civil lawsuits in federal court against immigrants who received fine notices but did not pay. By May 2026, more than 50 lawsuits had been filed in federal court districts ranging from California to Florida. Some lawsuits demanded more than $1 million. The government seeks court-ordered financial judgments to seize assets, garnish wages, and intercept tax refunds. The Department of Homeland Security reduced the notice period for immigrants to contest fines to 15 business days.

Hasan Shafiqullah, a lawyer with The Legal Aid Society, stated, "It's a manufactured perfect storm." The Legal Aid Society is part of a coalition of nonprofit advocacy groups fighting the immigration fines through an attempted class action lawsuit. Public Justice represents class plaintiffs in lawsuits against the immigration fines. Charles Moore, senior attorney at Public Justice, said, "They jammed these notices through the administrative process." He added, "Now they're taking them to court and trying to get default judgments."

The Department of Homeland Security has contracts with at least four private companies for debt collection. One company performs debt collection work for DHS through a contract with the Department of the Treasury. Private debt collectors are seeking interest and fees on top of the fines. At least one $1.8 million fine increased to $2.3 million due to debt collection efforts. One immigrant plaintiff stated in a lawsuit filing that she never received initial notice of the fine from DHS. A civil judgment exists against the immigrant plaintiff. The Treasury Department seized the joint tax refund of the immigrant plaintiff and her U.S. citizen husband. The federal government reported the immigrant plaintiff to credit bureaus as being in default on the debt.

DHS officials stated the agency would forgive all fines and penalties for immigrants who use the CBP Home mobile app to self-deport. The self-deportation offer includes a free flight home and an exit bonus of $2,600, paid after return is confirmed via the app. A January press release stated there have been nearly 100,000 users of the CBP Home app. According to DHS, more than 2 million immigrants have chosen to voluntarily self-deport since January 2025. Public comment on the proposed rule change closes on Monday.