A federal judge has put the brakes on the Trump administration’s revived program of massive civil fines against immigrants, ruling that the Department of Homeland Security likely broke the law by slapping people with enormous penalties without checking whether they actually did anything to deserve them.
U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr., an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, granted a stay Wednesday against a June 2025 rule that let DHS rush out fines for failing to leave the country, along with ICE’s practice of issuing them in bulk.
The agency has reportedly handed out more than 65,000 penalties worth roughly $36 billion.


