Immigrants fined up to $1.8 million for remaining in US sue Trump administration

A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal authorities on behalf of immigrants facing fines reaching up to million each for staying in the U S illegally Daily penalties of have been levied against more than immigrants whose lawyers say they were attempting to comply with federal immigration laws The fines were implemented to encourage immigrants to leave the country The lawyers declared their clients were slapped with ruinous civil fines that are grossly disproportionate to the gravity of any immigration violations arguing that the fines are unconstitutional The lawsuit filed in Massachusetts on behalf of two immigrant women seeks class-action status to represent people facing fines that lawyers say have totaled more than billion under President Donald Trump's mass deportation policies POPE LEO XIV STRONGLY SUPPORTS US BISHOPS' CONDEMNATION OF TRUMP IMMIGRATION RAIDS 'EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL' The people we serve are doing exactly what the law requires pursuing legal relief through immigration courts and immigration agencies Hasan Shafiqullah a supervising attorney with The Legal Aid Society one of the groups representing the immigrants announced in a news release In return the cabinet is threatening to seize their wages cars even their homes One of the two plaintiffs a woman residing in Florida who was identified in the complaint only as Nancy M to protect her from retribution was instructed to leave the U S but also had an order of supervision and was meeting annually with immigration leaders as she attempted to become a legal permanent resident Despite this she received a bill earlier this year for about million which appeared to be reached through daily fines for the past five years The Department of Homeland Defense purported that the lawsuit was just another attempt to nullify federal immigration law through activist litigation The plaintiffs in this incident are here illegally and are suing so they can remain in the country illegally without any consequence or penalty contrary to decades-old federal law DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin commented in a announcement Shortly after Trump returned to the White House in January his administration revealed a series of moves to encourage immigrants to leave the country including DHS' announcement in February that illegal immigrants could face essential financial penalty if they choose not to self-deport DHS TO IMPOSE K FEE FOR NEWCOMERS GRANTED HUMANITARIAN PAROLETrump and Homeland Protection Secretary Kristi Noem have a clear message for those in our country illegally leave now McLaughlin noted in February The Trump administration will enforce all our immigration laws we will not pick and choose which laws we will enforce she added at the time The Associated Press contributed to this description