The Trump administration is taking a hardline stance on immigration enforcement, demanding nearly $1 million from an illegal migrant who has refused to comply with a long-standing deportation order.
According to court documents, the Department of Justice is seeking to collect a $941,114 civil penalty, plus accrued interest, from Marta Alicia Ramirez Veliz, an illegal migrant currently living in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Federal officials say the fine stems from Veliz’s willful failure to leave the United States despite a final order of removal.
An immigration judge initially ordered Veliz removed from the country in July 2019. That decision became final in September 2022 after the Board of Immigration Appeals dismissed her appeal. Court records show that despite the ruling, Veliz did not depart the United States as required, triggering escalating penalties under federal immigration law.
The DOJ served Veliz with a formal notice of fine on April 29, 2025, after determining she remained in the country in defiance of the removal order. When she failed to contest the penalty within the required 30-day window, federal officials finalized the fine on June 25, 2025, locking in the six-figure sum.
Court filings submitted by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche state that Veliz is “indebted to the United States for a civil penalty assessed for willfully failing or refusing to leave the country during the period to do so.” The documents specify that the total principal amount of the penalty reached $941,114 as of April 24, 2025.
Prosecutors calculated the fine by tallying daily penalties of $998 accrued over more than 940 days since Veliz’s appeal was dismissed. The resulting amount appears to be the largest assessed under a new enforcement policy rolled out by the Trump administration in 2025. Politico was the first outlet to highlight the unusually large lawsuit.
The case reflects broader changes in federal immigration enforcement. In June, the DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security finalized a rule eliminating the previous 30-day grace period before fines could be imposed on illegal immigrants who fail to comply with removal orders. Under the updated rule, penalties approaching $1,000 per day can now be issued immediately.
Such fines were first introduced during Donald Trump’s initial term but were later revoked by the Biden administration, which described them as unnecessary. The Trump administration reinstated and expanded the penalties as part of a renewed effort to enforce existing immigration laws.
While cracking down on noncompliance, the administration has also offered incentives for illegal migrants willing to leave voluntarily. In May, officials began publicly offering free flights and a $1,000 stipend to those who choose to self-deport, arguing that voluntary departures cost far less than arrests and forced removals. In June, the administration further sweetened the offer by pledging to forgive outstanding fines for migrants who finally comply with deportation orders.
According to federal figures, the strategy appears to be working. During Trump’s first year back in office, DHS deported roughly 622,000 illegal migrants, while an additional 1.9 million chose to self-deport during the same period.
