When Daniel arrived
in the U.S. about two decades ago, he came on a legal tourist visa. Once here, having fled his home country in South America, he filed an asylum application. A judge, however, eventually denied his claim.
Then 11 years ago, he married his partner, a U.S. citizen. Together, they had two children, who are also citizens. The couple filed a petition to grant him legal status through their marriage, but then Daniel was issued a deportation order, which presented a barrier in his case.
It’s hard to comprehend
how it can be so difficult
to legally stay with one’s family, but Daniel, for whom The Intercept is using a pseudonym, would soon face an even more mystifying hurdle: He recently received a letter from the government saying he owes about $368,000, according to his attorney, who recounted his tale.
Last year, President Donald Trump
issued
an executive order using a never-before-touched law to levy fines on an immigrant for each day he “willfully fails or refuses” to leave after receiving a removal order. Trump’s order also increased the fine from $500 to $998 per day to, supposedly, update it for inflation.
“It’s ‘Hurry and pay — oh, by the way, we’re not going to give you any appropriate information.’”
The Trump administration quickly started issuing fines as high as
$1.8 million
— the maximum penalty for the maximum five-year period, although unpaid fines can also accrue interest — to immigrants last year. As of July, more than 100,000 immigrants had received notices of fines, totaling more than $84 million, according to the government.
The
administration says
it will forgive the debts if immigrants leave the country.
Daniel is eager to pay as much as he can, fearing the financial and immigration repercussions of not responding to the notice he received. But there’s a big problem: He can’t.
And it’s not for a lack of funds. Instead, Daniel simply doesn’t have the information necessary to make a payment; the government nev
… [more]
