DHS Says Civil-Penalty Campaign Spurred 82,000 Self-Deportations

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said October 13, 2026, that its civil-penalty campaign helped prompt more than 82,000 people with removal or voluntary-departure orders to leave the United States. The department counted departures from March 2025 through September 14, 2026.

It compared that figure with 8,600 departures during an earlier period. But an analysis found approximately 7,700 people, about 9% of the reported self-departures, left after receiving a penalty.

The department credited fines with contributing to the rise. Its figures do not show that every departure resulted from a penalty.

The announcement came as the administration finalized a rule to speed up the process for issuing fines. A federal judge had blocked the government from imposing them in a case involving two immigrants and an advocacy group.

Penalty notices climbed as departures rose

The department said it issued more than 175,000 immigration penalties after changing its enforcement approach, compared with 12,000 in the preceding months. The more detailed counts cover different penalty categories and time periods.

The department said the penalties totaled more than $84 billion. It presents the departures and fines as evidence of the campaign’s reach, though the departure tally includes people who did not receive a penalty.

The faster process targets missed departure orders

The penalties draw on provisions associated with the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. They can apply to people who willfully fail to leave after a final removal order or a voluntary-departure order, as well as people who enter unlawfully.

The revised procedure sought to cut the earlier 30-day notice period. It also shortened the time available to contest a penalty. The administration said the changes make the process quicker and easier for the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department to administer.

Fines for failing to leave after an order can reach $998 or $1,000 per day, depending on the assessment described. Some notices cover periods reaching back as far as five years, and individual amounts have exceeded $1.8 million.

The administration has also offered another route out. Its CBP Home application promotes government-funded travel, forgiveness of qualifying failure-to-depart fines and a $3,000 exit payment. Earlier program reporting put the cash offer at $2,600, with the amount varying by program period.

The department has framed the options as leaving with logistical and financial assistance or staying and facing accumulating penalties and possible enforcement.

A Massachusetts judge blocked the fines before the rule was finalized

On October 5, 2026, U.S. District Judge George A. O’Toole Jr. blocked the administration from imposing the fines in a lawsuit brought by two immigrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. His ruling came eight days before the department finalized its rule on October 13, 2026.

O’Toole concluded that the plaintiffs had demonstrated:

“a likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, and that the balance of equities and the public interest support preliminary relief.”

He found that the government’s process likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act, in part because the penalty notices did not explain with enough specificity why a particular fine applied. The decision also said people in an “economically precarious position” could be driven into “insolvency.”

One plaintiff, identified as Nancy M., had received an assessment exceeding $1.8 million. The case challenges the government’s use of civil monetary penalties against noncitizens alleged to have failed to depart. The ruling came from the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts; its practical reach depends on the injunction’s terms and any later appellate proceedings.

Lawmakers and the department defended sharply different views

Senators Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, and Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, urged the department and the Justice Department in July 2026 to pause what they called the “improper application of certain civil penalties” against “law-abiding immigrants.” Critics have questioned the scale of the assessments, their retroactive use and whether people with little income can meaningfully challenge them.

Markwayne Mullin, the secretary of homeland security, defended the enforcement effort in a September 18, 2026, interview. He was responding to Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, who had said in a campaign advertisement that some Trump immigration policies “have gone too far.” Citing department data, she argued that many detained immigrants had no criminal record.

“That’s not going to keep us, the men and women at the Department of Homeland Security, from doing our job.”

Mullin said the detained people had committed crimes by crossing the border unlawfully. “Every one of them was a criminal because they broke our nation’s laws when they came across our borders illegally.” He also said, “We’re not coming after you. We’re coming after those that chose not to do it the right way.” In a separate September 2026 interview, he said: “Our base wants mass deportation. We need mass deportation.”

The department counts departures, removals and arrests separately

A department spokesperson, whose name was not identified, said more than 3 million people had left during President Donald Trump’s first year back in office. The spokesperson estimated that 2.2 million of those departures were self-deportations, and attributed the broader total to the administration’s immigration crackdown.

“While other presidents failed to secure the border and remove criminal illegal aliens, President Trump is using every law available to put Americans first and secure our country.”

The same statement said that as of September 2026, the administration had deported nearly 1.1 million people and arrested more than 1.1 million people it described as unlawfully present. Those counts cover distinct actions. Departures, removals and arrests are not interchangeable measures.

This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.