A 41-year-old undocumented Honduran woman living in Florida has been hit with a massive $1.82 million civil fine for failing to comply with a deportation order issued nearly 20 years ago, CBS News reported.
The fine—calculated at $500 for each day she remained in the U.S. since April 2005—was issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a notice dated May 9.
According to immigration attorney Michelle Sanchez, who represents the woman, the penalty is unlike anything she’s seen before. “ICE is terrorizing individuals without even having to go pick them up,” Sanchez said. “They’re sending notices with fines so enormous that many people won’t earn that amount in their lifetime.”
The woman, a mother of three U.S. citizen children, reportedly missed a court hearing in 2005, which led to the original deportation order. Sanchez filed a motion in 2024 to reopen the case, citing her client’s clean record and long residence in the U.S., but the request was denied in March. ICE justified the decision by pointing to the absence of updated prosecutorial discretion guidelines under the Trump administration.
This case represents a rare enforcement of civil penalties under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act—provisions that had been largely dormant until the Trump administration revived them as part of a broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants.
Trump officials also recently launched a “self-deportation” program, offering free flights and even financial incentives for undocumented individuals who voluntarily leave the U.S. through the CBP One app.
The fine notice allows the woman to request an interview to contest the charges, but Sanchez warned against showing up without legal representation. “They’re going into the lion’s den,” she said, adding that her client was never properly informed about the consequences of ignoring the removal order.
While President Trump claims the policy will “save American taxpayers billions,” critics argue it’s spreading fear through immigrant communities. Former Biden-era ICE official Scott Shuchart told Reuters, “Their point isn’t really to enforce the law, it’s to project fear in communities.”
