A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal government on behalf of immigrants facing fines of up to $1.8 million each for remaining in the United States illegally.
According to Fox News, the penalties, which accumulate at $998 per day, have been imposed on more than 21,500 immigrants, lawyers say.
The fines were intended to encourage individuals to leave the country, but attorneys argue that many of their clients were attempting to comply with immigration laws.
“The people we serve are doing exactly what the law requires — pursuing legal relief through immigration courts and immigration agencies,” said Hasan Shafiqullah, supervising attorney with
The Legal Aid Society, one of the groups representing the immigrants. “In return, the government is threatening to seize their wages, cars, even their homes.”
The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts on behalf of two immigrant women, seeks class-action status to represent the broader group of people facing fines that lawyers say have totaled more than $6 billion under President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies.
One plaintiff, identified only as Nancy M. in court filings to protect her identity, lives in Florida.
She received an “order of supervision” and met annually with immigration officials while attempting to become a legal permanent resident. Despite her compliance, she was billed roughly $1.8 million this year — a sum calculated from daily $998 fines applied over five years.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs called the fines “ruinous civil fines” that are “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of any immigration violation, arguing the penalties are unconstitutional.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed back, describing the lawsuit as “just another attempt to nullify federal immigration law through activist litigation.” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said, “The plaintiffs in this case are here illegally and are suing so they can remain in the country illegally without any consequence or penalty — contrary to decades-old federal law.”
After Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration announced new measures to encourage self-deportation.
In February, DHS warned that illegal immigrants could face “significant financial penalty” if they failed to leave voluntarily. McLaughlin emphasized at the time that the administration would enforce “all our immigration laws” and that the message to those in the U.S. illegally was clear: leave immediately.
