Federal Government’s Multi-Million Dollar Immigration Fine Against Virginia Resident Unlawful, Lawsuit Alleges
Today, the Legal Aid Justice Center filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a Virginia resident facing more than $1.8 million in immigration fines imposed by the federal government, marking one of the latest examples of the administration’s escalating effort to use extreme financial penalties as a weapon against immigrant communities.
The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, challenges the government’s attempt to impose massive civil penalties under a little-known immigration law that allows federal officials to fine individuals who remain in the United States after receiving a removal order. The complaint argues that the government acted unlawfully, violated constitutional protections, and failed to follow basic procedural safeguards before issuing the extraordinary penalty.
The plaintiff faces financial ruin after the federal government imposed the fine, now totaling more than $1.8 million, in the form of a daily penalty that compounds over time. Their fine has increased despite the plaintiff’s efforts to address their immigration circumstances and with virtually no way to challenge its validity. Recent changes in federal policy stripped away critical procedural protections that had allowed individuals to seek review.
“A $1.8 million fine is not immigration enforcement. It is government intimidation,” said Rohmah Javed, Director of the Immigrant Justice Program at the Legal Aid Justice Center. “The federal government is reviving obscure enforcement powers to financially devastate immigrant families and send a chilling message. These fines are designed to create fear, not compliance, and no government agency should have unchecked power to impose this kind of life-destroying punishment.”
For immigrant families, these fines can have catastrophic and life-altering consequences. Advocates warn that allowing these fines to stand could set a dangerous precedent, opening the door for federal agencies to revive dormant enforcement tools and use financial penalties as a new front in aggressive immigration enforcement.
“The government is attempting to impose a penalty so severe that it would financially ruin someone for the rest of their life, while simultaneously stripping away meaningful opportunities to challenge that punishment before it becomes final,” said Javed. “Government agencies must operate within legal limits. No federal agency should have the power to impose life-destroying penalties through a process where the outcome is practically impossible to contest.”
The lawsuit seeks to block enforcement of the fine, vacate the unlawful agency action, and ensure the federal government complies with constitutional and statutory limits before imposing penalties of this magnitude. It is the only suit of its kind in Virginia, although one other lawsuit challenging this practice has been filed in the District of Massachusetts by Public Justice, Legal Aid Society of New York, Free Migration Project, and Covington and Burlington.
Download the filing here
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