DHS Is Billing Unaccompanied Immigrant Kids $5,000

The Department of Homeland Precaution has sent unaccompanied immigrant teenagers fines for illegally entering the United States according to youth advocates and fine notices reviewed by New York Focus and The Intercept Roughly teenagers in New York ages to received the fine in mid-October mentioned Meena Shah managing director of the Legal Services Center at The Door a New York City-based nonprofit that serves young people At least one teenager in Michigan has received the fine too according to the teen s lawyer New York Focus and The Intercept reviewed copies of the fine notices delivered in both New York and Michigan The fine is one of several new financial penalties for immigrants created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that President Donald Trump signed in July The federal regime is issuing the fines under a section of the law titled Inadmissible alien apprehension fee which is set at and can be applied to people apprehended between official ports of entry Homeland Safeguard s application of the fine hasn t been previously informed Shah and Ana Raquel Devereaux the attorney representing the teenager in Michigan both revealed the kids are living in shelters overseen by the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement or ORR which takes custody of unaccompanied immigrant children while they wait to be disclosed to an adult sponsor Devereaux who works for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center pointed out that kids in establishment custody have no ability to work It s really about creating fear Devereaux revealed There s no way that a child in this situation would be able to pay this and the penalties are so severe Minors in Texas and Pennsylvania have received the fines too according to a staff member at a national nonprofit who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the nonprofit s leadership fears being targeted by the Trump administration Related ICE Targets Unaccompanied Immigrant Children Offering Payment for Deportation The fine is one of several strategies the Trump administration has sought in modern weeks to pressure minors who entered the U S alone to return to their home countries Over Labor Day weekend the ruling body attempted to deport dozens of unaccompanied Guatemalan children who were in ORR custody kids were loaded onto planes before a judge halted the plan In early October the establishment commented it was offering to unaccompanied minors years and older who agree to leave the country The notices reviewed by New York Focus and The Intercept state that Payment in full is due now and list an array of anticipated consequences for failure to pay including collection litigation and negative impacts on their immigration cases Fines that aren t paid in full will accrue interest the notices say They re trying to pressure and coerce these young people into taking voluntary departure Shah commented These are the stressors you re putting very young kids under Limit Patrol teased the apprehension fee in a September Facebook post which included a megaphone emoji and revealed anyone years or older could be fined Money collected from the fines will be credited to Immigration and Customs Enforcement according to the text of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Other fees created by the new law include to apply for asylum plus every year the application is pending for asylum-seekers to apply for a work permit and for anyone ordered removed in absentia and then arrested by ICE Lack of clarity over exactly how and when to pay the fees lately sparked panic among asylum-seekers in New York and a flood of misinformation and foreseen scams New York Focus not long ago revealed In response to questions about the fee being applied to minors the Department of Homeland Defense referred New York Focus and The Intercept to a press release about a different fee of for immigrants paroled into the U S The agency did not respond to follow-up questions Supporters of the fine argue that it will incentivize people to cross at legal entry points rather than traverse dangerous desert terrain and take up Customs and Margin Protection tools Andrew Arthur a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies a think tank that advocates for restrictions on immigration revealed he understood the argument that a teenager won t be able to pay a fine but announced their parents or relatives would then be on the hook This isn t you know We want to punish -year-old kids Arthur noted This is We want to discourage parents from paying operators to bring their kids to the United States Read Our Complete Coverage The War on Immigrants It s unclear how countless immigrants have received the fine Several attorneys who work with unaccompanied minors in New York and other states explained New York Focus they d heard about the fines secondhand but hadn t seen any cases personally All of the cases New York Focus and The Intercept were able to verify involved teenagers in ORR custody but advocates stated they had heard of minors outside of federal custody receiving the fines Under Trump the number of unaccompanied children traversing the territory line and entering ORR custody has plummeted In September about kids were in ORR custody on average down from more than last October Theo Liebmann a law professor at Hofstra University who runs a legal clinic for immigrant youth explained unaccompanied kids in ORR custody are particularly vulnerable because they often don t have lawyers having just now arrived in the U S Liebmann who doesn t have any clients who have received the fine stated it appeared to be an effort to go after the kids who are especially defenseless and won t be able to understand how to look at this threat how real this threat is and what they can do in response The post DHS Is Billing Unaccompanied Immigrant Kids appeared first on The Intercept