The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Justice have finalized a rule making it easier and faster for the government to impose civil monetary penalties for certain immigration violations, effective October 14, 2026, the Federal Register text of the final rule shows (91 FR 65390).
Source: Federal Register / govinfo.gov
The rule applies to noncitizens who wilfully fail or refuse to leave the United States after a final removal order, who fail to depart within the time permitted under a voluntary departure order, or who are apprehended while unlawfully entering or attempting to enter the United States, the San Diego Visa Lawyer Blog reported on October 15 in its summary of the final rule. The rule does not create entirely new penalties; instead, it changes the procedures DHS uses to impose existing fines.
Source: Visa Lawyer Blog
How much are the fines?
For unlawful entry or attempted entry, the inflation-adjusted civil penalty ranges from $100 to $500 per entry. For failure to comply with voluntary departure, the penalty may range from $1,992 to $9,970, with a general default amount of $3,000. For a person subject to a final removal order who wilfully remains, DHS may impose up to $998 for each day of noncompliance — roughly $1,000 a day — so in long-running cases the total can grow very large, according to the Federal Register schedule cited by INUS News and the Visa Lawyer Blog.
Under the finalized process, a DHS immigration officer may issue a written decision stating the law, the type and amount of the fine, and the reasons, and explaining the right to appeal. Appeals must be filed within 15 business days to a DHS supervisory immigration officer — replacing the older notice-of-intent process, which generally allowed at least 30 days to respond and could involve an interview and an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals, INUS News reported.
The final rule arrives days after a Boston federal judge, George A. O'Toole Jr., issued a preliminary order on October 5 barring the administration from assessing or collecting the same $998-a-day penalties in a class-action lawsuit brought by two migrants and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, VisaVerge reported. That order pauses the disputed practice while the case continues and does not decide it. Immigration Analytics, reporting on October 11, noted the final rule sets up an early test of whether a finished rulemaking can restore a process a court has halted. Sources: Federal Register, October 14, 2026; Visa Lawyer Blog, October 15, 2026; INUS News; Immigration Analytics, October 11, 2026; VisaVerge (Boston injunction).