A US federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from imposing civil fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who remain in the country after receiving final deportation orders.
US District Judge George O’Toole in Boston issued the ruling in a class-action lawsuit brought by two migrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. He determined that the administration’s policies for imposing the fines were unlawful.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reportedly issued more than 103,000 fines worth approximately $84 billion after President Donald Trump returned to the White House.
Under the policy, migrants could face penalties of $998 per day for failing to leave the United States after receiving deportation orders. Authorities could also apply the fines retroactively for up to five years, bringing the maximum amount to $1.8 million.
Judge O’Toole said collecting such penalties could push financially vulnerable migrants into insolvency. He also ruled that the government violated the Administrative Procedure Act by using forms that did not provide specific allegations explaining why individual migrants deserved penalties.
Additionally, the judge found that DHS and the Justice Department failed to follow proper rulemaking procedures when they introduced a streamlined process for imposing the fines in 2025. The ruling represents a significant legal setback for the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement strategy.
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