The Trump Administration is putting a price tag on defying a deportation order, and the meter is running.
The Department of Homeland Security has issued approximately $84 billion in civil fines to illegal immigrants since President Trump returned to office, according to figures a DHS official provided to Fox News Digital.
The agency issued roughly 103,000 fines over the past 18 months and had collected approximately $1.2 billion in payments as of July.
The penalties form a key part of Trump’s campaign to push illegal immigrants with final removal orders to leave the United States voluntarily.
Those who refuse to depart or otherwise comply with their removal orders can face fines of $998 for every day they remain in the country, according to DHS.
The administration has said illegal immigrants must pay the fines before they are deported. DHS has also warned that the federal government may seize assets from those who refuse to pay.
The message is clear: Leave voluntarily or face arrest, deportation and a potentially enormous bill.
DHS has described the fines as a less expensive alternative to traditional deportation proceedings. The pressure campaign is designed to convince more illegal immigrants to arrange their own departures using the CBP Home app.
US Customs and Border Protection has distributed a flyer explaining the choice.
“Self-deportation is safe,” the flyer states. “Leave on your own terms by picking your departure flight.”
According to DHS, non-criminal illegal immigrants who voluntarily leave may retain money earned while in the United States and preserve their ability to seek legal immigration status later.
Migrants unable to afford transportation may also qualify for subsidized flights home.
The alternative comes with far less flexibility.
Those who refuse to self-deport will be “apprehended by DHS with no opportunity to get your affairs in order beforehand,” the CBP flyer warns.
DHS contends the financial pressure is already helping reshape migration patterns.
The department told Fox News Digital in May that more than 3 million illegal immigrants had left the United States during Trump’s first year back in office, including an estimated 2.2 million who departed voluntarily.
DHS also said the administration had deported nearly 900,000 illegal immigrants and arrested more than 900,000 as of May 17.
Those numbers come directly from the department and have not been independently audited.
The administration argues the departures represent a sharp reversal from the record illegal crossings seen during the Biden administration. Rather than relying exclusively on arrests and government-funded deportation flights, Trump’s team is using fines, asset seizures and travel assistance to make voluntary departure the easier option.
Under Trump, ignoring a removal order no longer brings only the threat of deportation. It comes with a meter running at $998 a day.
DHS issues $84B in fines to illegal immigrants under Trump administration https://t.co/JLj2Yc3scw pic.twitter.com/mwbUqk3MxW
— New York Post (@nypost) July 22, 2026
