Federal Judge in Boston Blocks Trump Administration Fines of Up to $1.8 Million on Migrants

A federal judge in Boston on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s policy of imposing fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who do not leave the United States after receiving final deportation orders, according to Reuters.

U.S. District Judge George O’Toole issued the ruling in a class-action lawsuit brought by migrants who had been assessed civil penalties by the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. O’Toole found the fines were imposed unlawfully and wrote that collecting them would likely push the plaintiffs toward insolvency, Reuters reported. The Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment.

More than 103,000 fines totaling about $84 billion

According to Reuters, DHS said in July that it had issued more than 103,000 fines since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, totaling roughly $84 billion. The penalties were levied at $998 per day and applied retroactively for up to five years, reaching the $1.8 million maximum.

Congress first authorized such civil penalties in a 1996 immigration law, but no administration attempted to impose them until Trump’s first term, according to Reuters. In July 2025, DHS and the Justice Department adopted a streamlined process that eliminated a 30-day notice period and shortened the window to challenge a fine.

O’Toole sided with the plaintiffs on two grounds, according to Reuters: the penalty forms lacked specific allegations explaining why an individual’s conduct warranted a fine, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, and the administration adopted its streamlined process without first giving the public a chance to comment, as federal rulemaking requires.

Reporting based on coverage by Reuters.