A federal judge in Boston on October 5 blocked the Trump administration’s effort to impose civil fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who stay in the United States after a final deportation order, ruling that the penalties were imposed unlawfully, Reuters reported. U.S. District Judge George O’Toole, appointed by President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, ruled in a class action brought by two penalized migrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.
What the court blocked
Starting last year, the administration began charging $998 per day to people who did not leave after a final removal order, Reuters reported. Applied across the five-year limitations period, the plaintiffs’ complaint says, that daily rate can reach about $1.8 million for one person.
O’Toole said collecting the fines could push the plaintiffs toward insolvency. They live in an “economically precarious position,” he wrote, The Hill reported. One plaintiff, identified in court papers as Nancy M., was fined about $1.8 million while working two jobs.
Why the judge found the fines unlawful
The ruling rested on the Administrative Procedure Act on two points, according to Reuters. First, the penalty notices used boilerplate forms that did not state specific allegations explaining why an individual’s conduct justified a fine. Second, the administration changed its fine process without first giving the public a chance to comment.
The plaintiffs challenged a June 27, 2025 Interim final ruleA rule that takes effect without a prior comment period. The agency accepts public comments after it is published and may revise the rule afterward.See it in the glossary that took effect immediately without public comment, according to the complaint. They say it cut the time to contest a fine to 15 business days, down from up to 60 under earlier rules, and removed the option to request an interview.
How the fines program restarted
The statute behind the fines allows a daily penalty when a person willfully fails to leave after a final removal order, and a separate fine when someone given Voluntary departurePermission to leave the United States within a set period, at the person's own expense, instead of being ordered removed. Immigration judges and DHS can grant it, and the person must leave by the deadline the grant sets.See it in the glossary does not depart on time. The complaint says no administration used these provisions before President Trump’s first term, and that the Biden administration rescinded the delegation memos that allowed ICE to issue the fines.
President Trump revived the program on January 20, 2025, the complaint says, and ICE resumed issuing fines that spring. The plaintiffs estimated the class at no fewer than 21,500 people. Those figures are allegations in a court filing, not findings by the court.
What happens next
The ruling is a district court decision, and the government can appeal it. It is the latest ruling to turn on the Administrative Procedure Act’s requirement that agencies explain policy changes. On September 30, a Manhattan judge vacated ICE’s arrest policy at immigration courts on similar grounds. Courts are also weighing other removal-related policies, including a Supreme Court order that let third-country removals resume.