Undocumented immigrant faces $1.82 million fine for failing to leave U.S.

An undocumented immigrant who resides in Florida is facing a more than $1.82 million fine for failing to leave the country after receiving a removal order 20 years ago, CBS News has learned.

According to the notice sent May 9 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement's civil fines department and provided to CBS News, the 41-year-old Florida woman and mother of three, who CBS News has chosen not to name, was charged $500 for every day she has remained in the U.S. since the removal order was issued in April 2005, running up a total of $1,821,350.

CBS News has reached out to ICE for comment.

This case represents an enforcement of the civil fines listed under the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, which also requires undocumented immigrants to register with the U.S. government, according to Michelle Sanchez, the Florida-based immigration attorney representing the Honduran immigrant.

In February, the Trump administration announced its plans to penalize those living in the U.S. illegally under that immigration act. It encompasses a range of regulations but has historically rarely been enforced since its implementation.

According to Sanchez, the removal order was issued after the woman failed to show up to a court hearing in 2005.

In 2024, Sanchez filed a motion to reopen her client's case and have the removal order lifted, arguing the Honduran woman was eligible to apply for U.S. residency because she had resided in the U.S. for more than 10 years with no criminal record.

Sanchez said her client is also a mother of three U.S. citizen children who would be qualifying relatives as they would suffer extreme and exceptionally unusual hardships if she were deported.

Under the Biden administration, ICE attorneys were given discretion to reopen cases to lift removal orders. Hundreds of thousands of these requests were left pending, however, according to Sanchez. In March, ICE notified the Florida immigration lawyer they could not reopen her client's case because the Trump administration did not offer guidance on such prosecutorial discretion.

Sanchez told CBS News she has seen an uptick in ICE issuing fines to her clients who remain in the country illegally, but the million dollar civil fine marks a first.

"ICE is terrorizing individuals without even having to go pick them up," Sanchez said. "They are terrorizing them by sending these notices where they are fining individuals an exorbitant amount of money that a person sometimes doesn't even make that amount in their lifetime."

The notice sent to the Florida mother of three indicates that the fine can be contested, and that requesting a personal interview to do so is an option.

"They're going into the lion's den," Sanchez said, adding that anyone who receives such a notice should first reach out to their immigration lawyer before showing up in person to contest fines.

Sanchez indicates she will be appealing her client's fine as the Hounduran mother was never advised of the consequences of failing to depart the U.S. once the removal order was issued.

"I welcome the orderly application of immigration law and I welcome CBP protecting us," Sanchez said, "but the laws have to be respected and if rights are trampled, there has to be consequences."