- Private contractors will track deported migrants abroad to collect millions in unpaid immigration fines.
- Daily penalties for remaining in the United States illegally reach nine hundred ninety-eight dollars.
- The program initially targets Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala using a nine million dollar contract.
The Trump Administration is preparing to pay private contractors to locate people removed from the United States and recover unpaid immigration debts in their home countries.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued an August 2026 solicitation for “Tracing and Payment Recovery Services.” The proposed $9 million contract would run for two years and target 66,387 individuals who have already been removed but still owe penalties.
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The first countries named for the effort are Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. The contract could later expand to other nations.
The collection effort reaches beyond U.S. borders. Contractors would verify identities, photograph homes as evidence and personally deliver written debt notices.
The Department of Homeland Security says it had issued $84 billion in penalties to 103,000 individuals as of July 2026. About $423 million of that amount involves people already deported.
Contractors would pursue debts that can grow rapidly
The penalties rely on 8 U.S.C. § 1324d, which allows a civil penalty for “failure to depart.” The current amount is $998 per day, an inflation-adjusted figure based on the original $500 penalty.
Officials can assess the penalties retroactively for up to five years. Individual balances therefore frequently exceed $1.8 million.
The government has also pursued liens on property, wage garnishment and the withholding of tax returns tied to assets or income in the United States. Those measures can continue to affect people after removal.
The authority dates to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Officials rarely used it before the second Trump administration, according to the policy background provided with the program.
DHS pairs the penalties with a payment to people who leave voluntarily
DHS has promoted the CBP Home app as an alternative to arrest and removal. People who use it to “self-deport” receive forgiveness of their penalties and a $2,600 exit payment, according to the department’s warning.
The department framed the choice in stark terms in a July 23, 2026, release titled “DHS Announces More Than $84 Billion in Civil Fines Issued to Illegal Aliens.” Lauren Bis, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, said:
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is working faster than ever before. Our message to illegal aliens is clear: LEAVE NOW. If you don't you will face the consequences, including fines, arrest, and deportation.”
The same warning stated: “Illegal aliens have a choice: They can use the CBP Home app and receive a free flight home and $2,600, or be fined, arrested, and deported.”
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended the strategy August 6, 2026.
“Under President Trump's leadership, we are enforcing the law. Do NOT attempt to enter our nation illegally: we will find you, arrest you, and deport you.”
Private investigators would document overseas collection visits
The solicitation assigns contractors more than a billing function. They must trace individuals abroad, confirm that the people they find are the same individuals named in government records, photograph residences and deliver notices in person.
That approach raises privacy and safety concerns in countries where violence rates are high, including Honduras and Guatemala. Private investigators would be operating in communities where an official-looking visit could expose a person’s immigration history or financial dispute.
The overseas work also marks a shift from collecting money or imposing liens inside the United States to pursuing people after removal. The program’s use of private tracing services has been described as an unprecedented expansion of U.S. immigration debt collection.
Advocacy groups are challenging the penalties in court
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the ACLU have challenged the penalties as “excessively punitive” and unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause.
The legal challenge confronts both the size of the assessments and the way the government applies them. A balance calculated at $998 per day can reach more than $1 million when officials assess multiple years, while the person facing the debt may already be outside the country.
The authority remains tied to the 1996 law, but its expanded use creates questions about notice, collection practices and constitutional limits. Outcomes may depend on the facts of an individual case and the court handling it.
A separate policy change has shifted some immigration matters toward U.S. consular offices abroad. USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said May 22, 2026:
“Following the law allows the majority of these cases to be handled by the State Department at U.S. consular offices abroad and frees up limited USCIS resources. [The law] has been ignored for years, but following it will help make our system fairer and more efficient.”
The CBP solicitation puts the overseas tracing effort into a two-year contracting framework, beginning with Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. The proposed work would turn unpaid assessments into a collection campaign reaching residences, property and income connected to people living abroad.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
