A coalition of lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit on Thursday for abuse of power against President Donald Trump’s Administration for imposing civil fines on undocumented immigrants, up to $1.8 million, to pressure them to leave the United States, asking that they be declared unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court for the District of Massachusetts against the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Department of Justice, on behalf of two immigrants – María L. from Massachusetts and Nancy M. from Florida – who face fines of 1.8 million dollars.
However, this case seeks to represent more than 21,500 people who have had these fines imposed since January 2025, which already total more than $6 billion, according to the organizations’ joint statement.
When Trump returned to the White House last January, the regulation established that migrants must be notified 30 days in advance before issuing the sanction. The rule was changed in June to eliminate that time period and authorized immigration agents to send fines by regular mail, also shortening the process to appeal the sanction.
The regulations, which set fines of up to $998 per day, are imposed on those who entered the country illegally; to those who ignored orders to leave the country or delayed their departure and to those who do not comply with the judicial agreements for their voluntary departure.
According to the lawsuit, these fines have been imposed even on people who are legally requesting some type of immigration relief, such as adjustment of status, who comply with ICE supervision orders, or who cannot safely return to their home country.
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The lawsuit seeks to annul the new rule on civil fines, declare the sanctions illegal and unconstitutional and permanently prohibit the Government from imposing or collecting them, the statement highlights.
Likewise, he tells the court that the sanctions system violates multiple constitutional and legal protections: the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment “because the government imposes fines without notice, without evidence and without any real opportunity to challenge them.”
It also violates the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment “because penalties reaching nearly $2 million are manifestly disproportionate and financially ruinous” and the right to a jury trial under the Seventh Amendment “because the government imposes monetary penalties through internal agency proceedings rather than in court,” according to the statement.
The lawsuit further alleges that the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it was issued without the required notice and comment process, which they consider “arbitrary and capricious.”
With information from EFE.
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