What’s at Stake
The use of immigration fines and fees has become an increasingly common tactic by the Trump Administration. Often times, the statutes the government relies on do not even allow for the fines and fees to be imposed in an individual’s case. ICE has begun using a new statute to assess certain fees against non-citizens long after they entered the country, even though many individuals entered the country before the law was passed and the law only applies at the border. Public Justice and its partners brought suit to stop these unlawful fees.
Summary
Public Justice, The Legal Aid Society, and Brown Goldstein & Levy represent five individuals, each of whom received fees while navigating the complex immigration system and pursing applications for asylum. Each entered the country many years ago, but ICE has applied a new law to issue fines for around $5,000 per person. Plaintiffs challenge ICE’s assessment of these fines against themselves and many others who are apprehended or assessed the fee in the interior of the United States, sometimes years after they entered.
Core Legal Question
At issue in this case is ICE’s use of a federal statute, 8 U.S.C. § 1815, to assess fees against noncitizens who entered the country many years ago, despite the fact that the law was not even on the books when they came to this country. That statute allows for fees only when individuals are “apprehended between ports of entry,” but ICE has been issuing fees long after they initially entered and far away from the border.