Judge Blocks Trump Policy Fining Migrants $84 Billion

US District Judge George O’Toole blocked a Trump administration policy that imposed fines of up to $1.8 million on migrants who failed to leave the United States after receiving final deportation orders. In a ruling issued in Boston, O’Toole found that the Department of Homeland Security imposed the fines unlawfully and violated the Administrative Procedure Act by using boilerplate forms that lacked specific allegations.

The policy levied fines of $998 per day, applied retroactively for up to five years. The Department of Homeland Security reported issuing over 103,000 fines totaling approximately $84 billion since Donald Trump returned to office. O’Toole also ruled that the administration failed to follow proper rulemaking processes when streamlining the fine-imposition process in July 2025 by denying the public a chance to comment.

The ruling follows a class-action lawsuit filed by migrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. The plaintiffs argued that the exorbitant fines would drive them into insolvency, with O’Toole noting that the affected individuals live in an economically precarious position.