A Honduran immigrant who has lived in the United States for nearly two decades is facing a complex situation after failing to comply with her deportation order issued in 2005 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The mother of three will have to pay a staggering $1.82 million, according to a CBS News report.
The news agency reported that the 41-year-old woman received a notice from ICE authorities on May 9 ordering her to pay $500 for each day she remained in the United States since being notified to leave the country. The penalty is based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, a set of laws that has rarely been used to apply such sanctions.
Michelle Sánchez, an attorney representing the immigrant, states that her client failed to appear at an immigration hearing in 2005, prompting the judge to issue a deportation order against her. However, the woman has lived peacefully in the country since then, without being penalized, and has three U.S. citizen children. If their mother were to be on the cover, she would face very complex situations.
Last year, the Honduran woman filed a request to have her case reviewed and her deportation order revoked, but unexpectedly, ICE denied her request in March of this year, arguing that the Trump administration had not defined the guidelines regarding discretion in the processes implemented by the previous administration.
"ICE is terrorizing people without even arresting them, sending out these notices with exorbitant fines that often exceed a person's lifetime earnings," the lawyer told reporters.
The attorney pointed out that, while the communication provides the possibility of challenging the penalty through an individual meeting with ICE, proceeding without the support of an attorney could expose immigrants to the risk of immediate deportation. "It's like walking into the lion's den," Sánchez argued.
As a measure, the attorney said she will challenge the sanction, arguing that her client did not receive the necessary information about the implications of leaving the country after being notified of her deportation order. The case is one of the first in which the government agency uses civil clauses of the 1952 Act to impose high financial penalties on immigrants.
During Donald Trump's term, the U.S. government has emphasized its commitment to using all legal mechanisms at its disposal to implement all immigration policies, including registering those in the country without authorization and applying sanctions, imprisonment, or both.
