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A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal government on behalf of immigrants face fines up to $1.8 million each for being in the US illegally.
Daily fines of $998 were imposed on more than 21,500 immigrants whose lawyers say they were trying to comply with federal immigration laws. Fines were introduced to encourage immigrants to leave the country.
The lawyers said their clients were hit with “devastating civil penalties” that were “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of any immigration violations, arguing the fines were unconstitutional.
The lawsuit, filed in Massachusetts on behalf of two immigrant women, seeks class-action status to represent people facing fines that lawyers say have totaled more than $6 billion under the president. Donald Trump policy of mass deportation.
A lawsuit has been filed against the federal government on behalf of immigrants who face fines of up to $1.8 million for being in the US illegally. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
“The people we serve are doing exactly what the law requires — seeking legal help through immigration courts and immigration agencies,” Hassan Shafiqullah, senior attorney for the Legal Aid Society, one of the groups representing immigrants, said in a press release. “In response, the government threatens to confiscate their wages, cars and even homes.”
One of the two plaintiffs, a woman living in Florida who was identified in the complaint only as Nancy M., to protect her from retaliation, was ordered to leave the United States, but she also had a “supervision order” and met annually with immigration officials in an attempt to become a lawful permanent resident.
Despite this, earlier this year she received a bill for about $1.8 million, which appears to have come from $998 in daily fines over the past five years.
The lawyers said their clients were hit with “devastating civil penalties” that were “grossly disproportionate to the gravity” of any immigration violations. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Department of Homeland Security stated that the lawsuit was “simply another attempt to invalidate federal immigration law through activist litigation.”
“The plaintiffs in this case are here illegally and are suing so they can remain in the country illegally without consequences or penalties—despite decades-old federal law,” DHS spokeswoman Trisha McLaughlin said in a statement.
Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration took a series of steps aimed at encouraging immigrants to leave the country, including the Department of Homeland Security's announcement in February that undocumented immigrants could face “significant financial penalties” if they choose not to deport themselves.
DHS WILL IMPROVE $1 THOUSAND DOLLARS FEE FOR MIGRANTS RECEIVED BY HUMANITARIAN-DODO
The Department of Homeland Security said the lawsuit was “simply another attempt to invalidate federal immigration law through activist litigation.” (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem “have a clear message to those in our country illegally: Leave now,” McLaughlin said in February.
“The Trump administration will enforce all of our immigration laws—we will not pick and choose which laws we enforce,” she added at the time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
