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A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to impose a fine of up to $1.8 million on migrants who fail to leave the country after receiving final deportation orders.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole in Boston issued his ruling Monday in response to a class-action lawsuit filed last year by two of the thousands of migrants who faced civil penalties from the Department of Homeland Security.
The judge granted preliminary relief to the plaintiffs, finding that the administration’s process of imposing the fines violated federal law and that migrants in the “economically precarious position” facing the fines could be pushed toward “insolvency.”
“Plaintiffs live in a precarious economic situation, even without the exorbitant fines imposed by the government,” he wrote.
DHS issues $84 billion in fines to illegal immigrants under Trump administration
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempts to impose a fine of up to $1.8 million on migrants who fail to leave the country after receiving final deportation orders. (Photo by Jim WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
“They face possible garnishment of their already modest wages, loss of their vehicles and homes, federal collection suits and other adverse collateral consequences,” O’Toole added. “If ultimately successful in this lawsuit, there is no indication that simply requiring the government to rescind its penalty notices would –– or even could, at this point –– restore the plaintiffs’ integrity or return circumstances to the status quo.”
O’Toole, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, described how the plaintiffs worked for low wages and came to the United States to escape political violence.
“Nancy M. was fined more than $1.8 million,” O’Toole wrote, referring to one of the plaintiffs. “She is a blue-collar worker who works more than 60 hours a week with two jobs, and she reports feeling severe anxiety affecting her ability to sleep, eat and live a normal life.”
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 punishment.
The judge ruled that the administration imposed the fines illegally and that migrants in an “economically precarious position” facing the fines could be pushed toward “insolvency.” (Christopher Dilts/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment.
As recently as July, DHS said it had issued more than 103,000 fines to migrants, totaling about $84 billion, since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.
DHS has defended the penalties, saying people who refuse to leave the country after receiving a final order of expulsion could face fines of $998 per day.
Although Congress authorized civil penalties under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Accountability Act of 1996, no administration had attempted to impose such fines before Trump’s first term.
Last year, the Trump administration began imposing fines of $998 per day on migrants who failed to leave the country following a final order of deportation. The fines were imposed retroactively for up to five years, with a maximum penalty of $1.8 million.
20 STATES CONTINUE TO BLOCK TRUMP ADMINISTRATIVE RULE THAT WILL MAKE IT HARDER FOR IMMIGRANTS TO OBTAIN VISAS AND GREEN CARDS
DHS said it has issued more than 103,000 fines to migrants, totaling about $84 billion, since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025. (Getty Images)
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In July 2025, DHS and the Department of Justice implemented changes to streamline the assessment of fines by removing the 30-day notice period and shortening the fine appeal process.
The plaintiffs successfully challenged this 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 refusal to leave was “deliberate” or “voluntary.”
O’Toole also found that the administration failed to follow regulatory processes when implementing its streamlined process for issuing fines because it did not provide the public with an opportunity to first comment on the policy change.
Lawmakers in Congress have attempted to challenge the administration’s fines imposed on migrants through the Immigration and Nationality Act. Senators Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, and Dick Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, urged DHS and DOJ to suspend the law’s “inappropriate application of certain civil penalties” to “law-abiding immigrants.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
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