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2026-05-25 20:16:10
[US Imposes Exorbitant Deportation Fee, $180,000 Fines Difficult to Implement, Exacerbating Immigration Panic] ⑴ The Trump administration plans to impose a $18,000 fine on each deported immigrant to cover arrest, detention, and repatriation costs. This policy will also raise the bar for their future legal return to the US. ⑵ The Department of Homeland Security acknowledges that over 23,000 people will face this new fine annually, but authorities are likely to collect almost nothing—institutional data shows that the average annual income in Mexico is only $5,000. ⑶ White House officials stated that the fine is intended to encourage illegal immigrants to "voluntarily leave," while the Department of Homeland Security stated that "illegal overstayers should leave immediately or face consequences." ⑷ From a transactional psychology perspective, this policy sends a clear deterrent signal: increasing the cost of violations to suppress the motivation for illegal entry. However, enforcement faces a ceiling on the actual affordability of low-income groups, making the fine more of a psychological warfare tool than a means of fiscal recovery. ⑸ Immigrant rights organizations point out that this move aims to "criminalize" almost all immigrants in the US. An official from the American Civil Liberties Union stated that "the purpose is to intimidate people and make them feel they must leave as soon as possible." (6) Data shows that the number of deportations by default judgment in 2024 surged from 62,000 in 2022 to 223,000, while the Trump administration simultaneously introduced a voluntary deportation bonus of $2,600 per person, and more than 100,000 people have used the relevant app to leave the country.
