Trump's Trials - Trump administration using massive civil fines to push self-deportations

Episode Date: October 1, 2026

Some undocumented immigrants face fines of more than a million dollars for failing to follow deportation orders from years ago.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. The president has both an ability and a willingness to use the power of his office, to think outside the box. Nobody makes a better deal than President Trump. We're going to do better and better and better. Nobody can believe what they're watching. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power.

Here's the latest from NPR. From NPR News, I'm A Martinez. Here's one tool the Trump administration is using to pressure undocumented immigrants to leave the country themselves. Civil fines of up to $1.8 million per person. From member station WUNC, here's Aaron Sanchez-Gera. In the city of Gastonia, near Charlotte, several tenants were recently evicted from an aging apartment complex. Tito Savillon was hired to do what he does best, remodel the apartments. With paint stained hands and jeans, this is how Savillon has made his American dream happen,

ever since he migrated from Honduras more than a decade ago. But this dream is in jeopardy. This summer, Sabillon got a letter saying he owes the Department of Homeland Security more than $1 million. Savillon is undocumented, and the government says he, quote, willfully failed to leave the U.S. after receiving a removal order in 2023 under the Biden administration. I have a family. That's the only that really matters that I have over here, you know? Paying the fine is out of the question,

and so is leaving his U.S. citizen wife, his stepson, his business, and the southern state he now calls home. I don't have a reason to give back in Honduras anyway. In my country, everything can be dangerous some places where I live, you know. And I think, like, you can do well this country if you can have a way to do it, you know. Savillon says he had no clue about a removal order

and the notice of the fines was the first time he heard about this. Lawyers have told him his best option is to try to gain legal status through his spouse. DHS says in a statement that by mid-July, it had issued more than 100,000 civil fines totaling more than $84 billion. DHS says those fines include up to $1,000 for each day that a person hasn't self-debut.

supported since receiving a removal order. Sabillon's family, like his father-in-law, Ricky Robinson, has come to his defense. Where's he going to get million dollars? Have it in the back pocket? That's a scary tactic. Robinson voted for Trump in the 2024 election. He says he regrets his decision now. He said that he was going to get the criminal aliens.

If you're just because you came across the border and you've done nothing but start your business, start a family, haven't committed any crimes. No, he never said anything about guns. going out to people like that. Immigration policy swings with each administration. But Congress set up the conditions of a flawed system, says Aaron Reiklin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council. The last time Congress made any changes to our immigration enforcement system was 1996. That law blocks people from returning to the U.S. for up to 10 years if they had unlawful

presence. But it also kept a lot of migrants from leaving the U.S. when historically they would move back and forth, says Reiklin Melnick. 25, 30 years later, we are seeing the problems of a system where no one can fix their papers until Congress actually gets its act together and changes the law. Today's government says these immigrants have willfully failed to self-deport. But many have stayed while trying to get legal status, says Hassan Sheffiqula with the Legal Aid Society of New York.

If I'm on a pathway to get a green card through my U.S. citizen spouse, self-petition, green card, whatever. There's so many different ways that people get status in this country. Why should I self-deport? The Legal Aid Society of New York is part of a class action lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge these fines. While a decision is pending, people like Savillon hope a judge will put a temporary pause on these fines. For NPR News, I'm Aaron Sanchez-Gera in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before we wrap up, a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics, podcast where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon.

And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.