He moved to Mexico after decades of being undocumented in the US. Then he got a $1.8 million fine from DHS

Courtesy Hector Negrete

Hector “Alessandro” Negrete got the phone call nine months after he moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, hoping for a fresh start without the onerous weight of uncertainty and fear he carried in Los Angeles.

“Hey, you have something that says, ‘invoice to border patrol,’” Negrete recalls his former roommate telling him around 8 p.m. that night as he was meal-prepping after the gym. He consulted with his lawyer, and his roommate tore the envelope open.

“Vecino, what is this?” his roommate asked, calling him “neighbor” in Spanish.

Inside was a seven-digit number. He owed the Department of Homeland Security $1.8 million, the paper read.

“What the hell?” Negrete said he first thought. Perplexed, he initially believed the letter was fraudulent. He got on a FaceTime call with his roommate to process the shock.

His second thought: “Oh my God, I’m gonna lose my money. I’m gonna lose my job.”

The letter sent to his old address where he still files US taxes said he must pay a $1,820,352 civil penalty for his failure to comply with a 2009 deportation order, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by CNN.

He was only 3 months old when he and his parents fled violence in their Mexican hometown and immigrated to California.

Negrete remained in the US for over 15 years after receiving a final deportation order, repeatedly trying to gain legal status but facing barriers, he said.

But after President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025, 43-year-old Negrete’s immigration enforcement fears and declining nonprofit work made his life in Los Angeles increasingly untenable.

“Being in a cage in LA … is not the dream that I had for my future,” Negrete told CNN.

Early last year, Negrete decided to leave. He crossed into Tijuana, Mexico, by car in September 2025, before flying to Guadalajara two days later, Negrete said.

“I really genuinely felt that once I left the US, I would be done,” Negrete said.

Negrete’s situation is not unique. He is one of more than 100,000 undocumented immigrants who have received fines from DHS from the beginning of the second Trump administration to mid-July – amounting to more than $84 billion, DHS told CNN Monday. DHS has collected more than $1.2 million as of July 16, the agency said.

DHS warns that those who have received a final order of removal may be fined $998 per day if they don’t self-deport, but the fines can be forgiven if they use the CBP Home app to leave, according to a July news release from the agency. Those who do will receive a free flight home and an “exit bonus of $2,600.”

“Our message is clear: illegal aliens in the country unlawfully should leave now or face consequences—including financial penalties,” DHS said in a statement to CNN.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/File

Charles Moore, a senior attorney at legal nonprofit Public Justice – which is suing the federal government for the immigration fines – said DHS is imposing penalties on people who may be complying with immigration requirements or pursuing lawful routes to remain in the country.

“This administration is weaponizing these fines to terrorize families and to push immigrants out of the country,” Moore said.

The federal government has argued the fine program was authorized by statutes passed by Congress nearly 30 years ago and is lawful.

“Whether an alien remains in country to pursue other forms of immigration relief is not a defense under the statutes,” the government said in a January court filing.

DHS referred CNN to the Treasury and Justice departments when reached for additional information.

Negrete and his lawyers twice provided evidence that he was living in Mexico, but officials demanded additional documentation, he and his attorney Marissa Montes said. Now Negrete – who works remotely for a US-based international nonprofit fighting ageism – is worried the government could pursue his US income and is considering joining litigation challenging the fines.

Negrete, born in Mexico in 1982, settled with his family first in South Los Angeles and later grew up primarily on Los Angeles’ east side in Boyle Heights.

Negrete spent a month in Mexico when he was around 6 years old. During his return trip back to the US, a woman hired to bring him across the border held him for more than a week and demanded additional money from his family, Negrete said. He described being tied in a vehicle and confined at her home.

“By the second night, I stopped crying as much because, at that young age, I guess I was just like, well, this is my new life,” he said.

Negrete did not discover his immigration status until after graduating from high school, he recounted.

Negrete said he had been accepted to the University of California, Berkeley, but learned he did not have a Social Security number while applying for scholarships.

“I remember asking my mom, like, ‘Oh, where’s my Social?’ … It was just a huge shock of confusion.”

Unable to afford college, he began working to help support his mother.

“I worked hard my entire life up to that point, and I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t go to college,” Negrete said. “I didn’t know how to feel angry because I didn’t know who to be angry at.”

Negrete says he repeatedly tried to obtain legal status: First through his father, who became a lawful permanent resident after marrying a US citizen. But that effort failed because his father had accidentally omitted him from an immigration form, he said. A DUI conviction in 2008 had prevented Negrete from initially applying for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) in 2012, though his record was eventually expunged, Montes told CNN. He then started the DACA application process before new applications were halted by the Trump administration in 2017 , he said.

At the time, undocumented status was discussed through “shame or secrecy,” he recalled.

Negrete later became open about his status and got involved in immigrant rights and social justice work. He was a neighborhood council member and described himself as a “Dreamer,” although Negrete never received DACA status.

“Learning to tell my story from a place of resilience over fear was something that I needed to practice,” Negrete said.

Negrete built a career in nonprofits and philanthropy and became an openly undocumented and queer community advocate.

Negrete first considered leaving the US during Trump’s first term but said he stayed after his mother was diagnosed with cancer in late 2017.

Then came the second Trump administration. Negrete had lost work and tried drawing on savings before concluding that remaining in the US was no longer financially sustainable. He didn’t want to spend four years hiding or continue living with uncertainty over detention and removal, he explained.

“It wasn’t even fear of being deported. It was more the in-between space,” he said.

He had already decided to leave the US when immigration operations and protests in Los Angeles intensified in June 2025. He spent much of that summer indoors, too scared to go to the gym or engage in his usual activities. Then, he began saying his goodbyes.

“I didn’t want to live in a cage,” he said.

Before leaving, Negrete played in a final softball tournament in Sacramento. The week before, he held a yard sale and going-away party where friends bought most of his belongings – like his scary movie memorabilia collection – as keepsakes.

He gave guests cards with the message: “A new home, different door, same key.”

Months before leaving, Negrete shared the same sentiment in a “love letter” on Substack.

“After over 40 years of living in Los Angeles, a city that shaped me, strengthened me, and loved me back, I’ve decided to repatriate politically back to Mexico,” he wrote. “But let me be absolutely clear: this is not goodbye to LA, but rather a rebirth for me, and hopefully for some of you too.”

Negrete stuffed one large suitcase with coats and professional clothes, along with a smaller bag with his dog’s things. He said he left Los Angeles on September 4, 2025, and drove about three and a half hours on Interstate 5. Accompanied by friends and his dog, Negrete crossed the border into Tijuana, he remembered.

On the way, Negrete and his friends stopped at a beach for a spiritual ceremony. They spent the rest of the drive talking, and one of his friends pleaded, “It’s not too late; we can turn back,” Negrete recounted.

Negrete said he tried to “keep it together,” but he broke down that night in Tijuana when his friends shared a heartfelt video they made him – whom they lovingly referred to as “Ale.” A photo slideshow played and friends shared farewell messages on camera saying they would miss “the glue to our group.”

The next day, he took a one-way flight to Guadalajara, Negrete said, feeling anxious as he traveled farther into Mexico.

“What am I doing leaving this very comfortable, uncomfortable place?” Negrete remembered thinking. His friends dropped him off “like I was in college.”

Negrete described the move as emotionally painful yet ultimately empowering.

But the culture shock kicked in swiftly: Although he was among the strongest Spanish speakers in his US social circle, he initially struggled with Guadalajara’s local dialect, he joked. Finding housing proved to be another hurdle. It took him around four months to obtain Mexican identification and a tax number.

Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images

“I really had to navigate everything from being a tourist,” Negrete said.

By January, his life had settled into a familiar rhythm: During the week, Negrete worked, went to the gym and walked his dog. He spent weekends hiking, visiting dog parks and exploring Guadalajara with a new group of friends.

He described having lingering anxiety around law enforcement: Seeing police initially triggered worry conditioned by his years living without status in the US, though later he had begun to feel safer in Mexico.

“I’m like, wait, I’m fine. I’m good,” he said.

But back in Los Angeles, the life he thought he had escaped nearly a year prior came back to haunt him: the massive fine.

Dated May 5, the fine cites the Immigration and Nationality Act Section 274D(a) , which authorizes DHS to impose monetary penalties on any noncitizen who “willfully fails or refuses to depart from the United States” after a final order of removal.

The notice says “If immigration officials can verify your departure, and if you are otherwise eligible for the debt rescission program, the United States will rescind the debt listed above.”

Negrete’s lawyers responded twice, but DHS dismissed their appeal and requested more evidence, according to his attorney and a notice reviewed by CNN.

“There was ample proof that Alessandro self-deported,” Montes said. “We provided that proof to the government, and even then, they said it wasn’t sufficient.”

Negrete said his lawyers had immediately responded to the initial letter, barely meeting the 15-day deadline for an appeal.

The appeal was filed on May 20 and the government denied it on June 2, his lawyers said. A day later, the government sent another invoice with the penalty and gave Negrete 10 days to appeal through email. Negrete responded on June 12, providing additional evidence he lives in Mexico, to which DHS responded that he didn’t submit enough evidence.

The fact that Negrete drove into Tijuana rather than flying directly from Los Angeles complicated documentation of his exit, Montes said. His attorneys say they submitted evidence that he left the country: signed declarations from a friend and reporter, his lease agreement in Guadalajara, domestic plane tickets within Mexico, a news article documenting his move and his Mexican ID documents.

Now, his legal team is preparing another submission that will include a passport stamp from another country.

The department also asked him to record his departure through the CBP Home app, but Negrete said he has not done so yet because he is concerned about how that information might be used.

DHS had said in the July release that by using the CBP Home app, “illegal aliens earn forgiveness for any civil fines or penalties for failing to depart the country.”

In July, two US senators sent a letter to the administration demanding the fines be halted, saying it has “abused” its authorities under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act “in an attempt to frighten immigrants—many of whom are seeking a green card or who have maintained lawful presence in the United States for decades.”

Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

A lawsuit challenging the DHS fines was filed last November in Massachusetts on behalf of two women, proceeding under the pseudonyms Maria L. and Nancy M.

The lead attorney, Moore, said regulatory changes adopted in June 2025 removed several protections for fine recipients, which DHS said would “make it easier and more efficient to fine illegal aliens.”

Recipients previously had 30 days to respond and could request an extension; now they have 15 business days, the rule says.

Immigrants also previously received a “notice of intention to fine,” but the current notice is described as a “notice of violation and order.” Extensions and in-person interviews are unavailable, and the appeals process for the penalties has been transferred from an appeals board to DHS, according to the rule. The revisions also removed the ability to ask DHS to rescind a penalty after a final decision is made, so a person who later becomes a lawful permanent resident may remain liable for the fine, Moore said. DHS, however, can reopen decisions at any time to reconsider and reduce or rescind fines, according to the rule.

The notices do not adequately explain what conduct allegedly violated the law and the size of the fines violates the Constitution’s prohibition against excessive fines, the lawsuit in Massachusetts alleges.

Moore argues the fines are being used to financially and psychologically pressure immigrants to leave the US and the government is not adequately considering whether a person “willfully” failed to depart, as required by law.

The federal government has noted officials still make an individual determination of whether a person’s conduct was willful or voluntary, according to the January court filing.

CNN has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.

A fine of $1.8 million appears to be among the most common penalty amounts, representing $998 a day over five years, Moore said.

About 70% of surveyed attorneys of $998-per-day fine recipients say their clients had obtained or were pursuing lawful status, according to an August report from the New York University School of Law’s Immigrant Rights Clinic. Like Negrete, over half had resided in the US for at least a decade after receiving their final deportation order.

Moore said the court held a hearing July 22 on the plaintiffs’ request for a stay, which would prevent the government from imposing or enforcing the fines in the challenged manner while litigation proceeds. The judge is now considering that motion, and a ruling is expected in the coming weeks or months, Moore said.

Because Negrete works for US clients and pays US taxes using an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, he worries authorities could garnish his wages or take other collection measures, he said.

The government has filed over 50 lawsuits against fine recipients as of May, according to the NYU report . If successful, they could then garnish their wages, place a lien on their property or freeze funds in their bank accounts, the report states. By law and regulation, the federal government can also utilize administrative wage garnishment without a ruling in a collections suit, the report states.

The fines primarily affect working-class people who could never afford to pay the fine, the report said.

Montes said it remains unclear how the government intends to collect the penalties or whether it could garnish Negrete’s US-sourced wages.

Negrete is now saving more money and paying his rent in advance to ensure he has housing if the dispute interrupts his income.

He does not plan to move back to the US, but he does hope to eventually visit loved ones after a 10-year reentry bar expires, he said. His mother lives in Denver, and his father and most of his siblings are in Pomona, California. Because his parents have legal status and his siblings are US citizens, they can visit him instead.

Though he does not regret leaving, Negrete said getting legal advice might have changed how he approached his departure. After moving, Negrete’s lawyers told him his childhood trafficking experience might have provided a route to lawful status.

“I still believe that I made the best decision that I thought for myself in the moment,” Negrete said.

He said moving to Mexico has allowed him to travel and consider buying property – possibilities he could not imagine in Los Angeles.

But Negrete and Montes strongly urge undocumented people considering departure from the US to consult an immigration attorney first, investigate all potential relief and understand the consequences of leaving.

His advice to others: “Talk to a lawyer…Definitely don’t do it the way that I did.”

There are countless things Negrete says he misses about LA: his “chosen family,” playing with his softball team, running with the Boyle Heights Bridge Runners on Wednesdays and downtown nightlife on weekends.

“But I don’t miss living under persecution,” he said.

承蒙赫克托·内格雷特惠

赫克托·“亚历山德罗”·内格雷特搬到墨西哥瓜达拉哈拉九个月后接到了电话，他希望摆脱在洛杉矶背负的沉重的不确定性和恐惧，重新开始生活。

“嘿，你这儿有个东西，上面写着‘给边境巡逻队的发票’，”内格雷特回忆说，那天晚上8点左右，他健身后正在准备晚餐时，他的前室友告诉他。他咨询了律师，然后他的室友撕开了信封。

“Vecino，这是什么？”他的室友问道，用西班牙语称呼他为“邻居”。

里面是一个七位数的号码。报纸上说，他欠国土安全部180万美元。

“搞什么鬼？”内格雷特说他当时的第一反应是。他感到困惑，一开始以为这封信是伪造的。他赶紧和室友视频通话，消化这突如其来的震惊。

他的第二个念头是：“我的天哪，我要赔钱了，我要丢工作了。”

据 CNN 查阅的一份通知副本显示，寄到他仍在美国报税的旧地址的信件称，他因未遵守 2009 年的驱逐令，必须支付 1,820,352 美元的民事罚款。

他只有3个月大的时候，就和父母一起逃离了墨西哥家乡的暴力冲突，移民到了加利福尼亚州。

他说，内格雷特在收到最终驱逐令后，在美国停留了超过 15 年，多次试图获得合法身份，但都面临重重阻碍。

但随着唐纳德·特朗普总统在 2025 年再次上任，43 岁的内格雷特担心移民执法部门会加强执法，而且他的非营利工作也日益减少，这使得他在洛杉矶的生活越来越难以维持。

“被关在洛杉矶的笼子里……这不是我梦想中的未来，”内格雷特告诉 CNN。

内格雷特说，去年年初，他决定离开。2025年9月，他开车进入墨西哥蒂华纳，两天后飞往瓜达拉哈拉。

“我真的觉得，一旦我离开美国，我的事业就结束了，”内格雷特说。

内格雷特的遭遇并非个例。国土安全部周一告诉CNN，自特朗普第二任期开始至7月中旬，已有超过10万名无证移民被处以罚款，总额超过840亿美元。截至7月16日，国土安全部已收取超过120万美元的罚款。

美国国土安全部警告称，收到最终遣返令的人员如果拒绝自行遣返，可能面临每天998美元的罚款。但根据该机构7月份发布的新闻稿，如果他们使用CBP Home应用程序离境，则可以免除罚款。此外，使用CBP Home应用程序离境的人员还将获得一张免费回国机票和2600美元的“离境奖励”。

“我们的信息很明确：非法滞留在该国的非法移民应该立即离开，否则将面临后果——包括经济处罚，”美国国土安全部在给 CNN 的一份声明中表示。

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/文件

查尔斯·摩尔是法律非营利组织“公共正义”（Public Justice）的高级律师，该组织正在起诉联邦政府，要求其支付移民罚款。摩尔表示，国土安全部正在对那些可能遵守移民要求或寻求合法途径留在该国的人施加处罚。

“本届政府正在利用这些罚款来恐吓家庭，并将移民赶出这个国家，”摩尔说。

联邦政府辩称，罚款计划是近 30 年前国会通过的法令授权的，是合法的。

“外国人留在该国寻求其他形式的移民救济，这并非法律规定的抗辩理由，”政府在1月份提交的法庭文件中表示。

当CNN联系国土安全部寻求更多信息时，国土安全部建议CNN向财政部和司法部咨​​询。

内格雷特和他的律师曾两次提供证据证明他居住在墨西哥，但官员们要求提供更多文件，他和他的律师玛丽莎·蒙特斯表示。内格雷特目前远程为一家总部位于美国的致力于消除年龄歧视的国际非营利组织工作，他担心政府可能会追查他在美国的收入，并正在考虑提起诉讼，挑战罚款。

内格雷特于 1982 年出生于墨西哥，最初与家人定居在洛杉矶南部，后来主要在洛杉矶东部的博伊尔高地长大。

内格雷特大约六岁时曾在墨西哥待了一个月。他说，在他返回美国的途中，一名受雇带他过境的女子将他扣留了一个多星期，并向他的家人索要更多钱财。他描述了自己被绑在车里，并被软禁在女子家中的情景。

“到了第二个晚上，我就不怎么哭了，因为在那个年纪，我想我当时就想，好吧，这就是我的新生活了，”他说。

内格雷特回忆说，他直到高中毕业后才发现自己的移民身份。

内格雷特说他已被加州大学伯克利分校录取，但在申请奖学金时发现自己没有社会安全号码。

“我记得当时问我妈，‘哦，我的社保卡在哪儿？’……当时我真是又惊又懵。”

由于无力支付大学学费，他开始工作以帮助养家糊口。

“在那之前，我一生都在努力工作，但那时我却什么都做不了。我上不了大学，”内格雷特说。“我不知道该如何表达愤怒，因为我不知道该对谁生气。”

内格雷特表示，他曾多次尝试获得合法身份：首先是通过他的父亲，他的父亲在与一位美国公民结婚后成为了合法永久居民。但他说，由于父亲在填写移民表格时不小心漏掉了他，所以这个努力失败了。蒙特斯告诉CNN，内格雷特在2008年因酒驾被定罪，这使他无法在2012年首次申请“童年入境暂缓遣返”（DACA），不过他的犯罪记录最终被清除。蒙特斯说，之后他开始申请DACA，但特朗普政府在2017年暂停了新的申请。

他回忆说，当时人们谈论无证移民身份时，要么感到羞耻，要么选择保密。

内格雷特后来公开了自己的身份，并积极参与移民权益和社会正义工作。他曾是社区委员会成员，并自称是“追梦人”，尽管内格雷特从未获得“童年入境暂缓遣返”（DACA）身份。

“学会用坚韧而非恐惧的态度讲述我的故事，是我需要练习的事情，”内格雷特说。

内格雷特在非营利组织和慈善事业中建立了自己的事业，并成为一名公开的无证移民和酷儿社群倡导者。

内格雷特在特朗普第一任期内曾考虑离开美国，但他表示，2017 年底他的母亲被诊断出患有癌症后，他留了下来。

随后特朗普第二任期上台。内格雷特失去了工作，尝试动用积蓄，但最终得出结论：继续留在美国已不再经济可行。他解释说，他不想再躲藏四年，也不想继续生活在被拘留和遣返的不确定性中。

“我甚至都不害怕被驱逐出境，更多的是那种进退两难的境地，”他说。

2025年6月，洛杉矶的移民行动和抗议活动愈演愈烈，那时他早已决定离开美国。那年夏天的大部分时间，他都待在室内，害怕得不敢去健身房，也不敢参加他平常的活动。之后，他开始与亲朋好友告别。

“我不想生活在笼子里，”他说。

离开前，内格雷特在萨克拉门托参加了最后一场垒球锦标赛。前一周，他举办了一场庭院甩卖和告别派对，朋友们买走了他的大部分物品——比如他收藏的恐怖电影纪念品——作为纪念品。

他给客人分发卡片，上面写着：“新家，不同的门，同样的钥匙。”

在离开前的几个月，内格雷特在 Substack 上发表了一封“情书”，表达了同样的感受。

“在洛杉矶生活了四十多年后，这座城市塑造了我，让我变得更强大，也深深地爱着我，我决定在政治上回归墨西哥，”他写道。“但我要明确一点：这并非告别洛杉矶，而是我的重生，也希望对你们中的一些人来说也是如此。”

内格雷特把一个大行李箱塞满了外套和职业装，还有一个小包装着他狗的东西。他说他于2025年9月4日离开洛杉矶，沿着5号州际公路开了大约三个半小时。他回忆说，他和朋友以及他的狗一起越过边境进入了蒂华纳。

途中，内格雷特和他的朋友们在海滩边停下来参加一个宗教仪式。他们一路开车，一路聊天，其中一个朋友恳求道：“还不算太晚，我们可以回去。”内格雷特回忆道。

内格雷特说他努力“保持镇定”，但那天晚上在蒂华纳，当他的朋友们播放了一段为他制作的感人视频时，他还是崩溃了——朋友们亲切地称他为“阿莱”。视频中播放着照片幻灯片，朋友们在镜头前分享了告别信息，说他们会想念“我们这个团队的粘合剂”。

内格雷特说，第二天，他搭乘单程航班前往瓜达拉哈拉，随着他深入墨西哥腹地，他感到焦虑不安。

“我为什么要离开这个既舒适又不舒服的地方？”内格雷特回忆当时的想法。他的朋友们把他送回家，“就像我刚上大学一样”。

内格雷特形容这一举动在情感上是痛苦的，但最终却赋予了她力量。

但文化冲击很快就来了：虽然他在美国社交圈里西班牙语说得相当流利，但他开玩笑说，一开始他还是很难掌握瓜达拉哈拉的方言。找房子又是另一个难题。他花了大约四个月的时间才拿到墨西哥身份证和税号。

Ulises Ruiz/法新社/盖蒂图片社

“我真的必须像个游客一样去体验一切，”内格雷特说。

到了1月份，他的生活已经步入正轨：工作日，内格雷特上班、去健身房、遛狗；周末，他则和一群新朋友一起远足、去狗狗公园，探索瓜达拉哈拉这座城市。

他表示自己对执法部门一直感到焦虑：最初看到警察会引发担忧，这是因为他在美国多年没有合法身份，但后来他开始觉得在墨西哥更安全了。

“我当时就想，等等，我没事，我很好，”他说。

但回到洛杉矶后，他以为在近一年前已经摆脱的生活又回来困扰他了：巨额罚款。

该罚款通知书日期为 5 月 5 日，援引了《移民和国籍法》第 274D(a) 条，该条授权国土安全部对任何在最终驱逐令下达后“故意不离开或拒绝离开美国”的非公民处以罚款。

通知称：“如果移民官员能够核实您的离境情况，并且您符合债务撤销计划的其他条件，美国将撤销上述债务。”

据内格雷特的律师和 CNN 审阅的一份通知显示，内格雷特的律师两次做出回应，但国土安全部驳回了他们的上诉，并要求提供更多证据。

蒙特斯说：“有大量证据表明亚历山德罗是自行遣返的。我们已将这些证据提交给政府，但即便如此，他们仍然认为证据不足。”

内格雷特表示，他的律师立即对第一封信作出了回应，勉强赶在 15 天的上诉期限前完成了回复。

他的律师表示，上诉于5月20日提出，政府于6月2日驳回。一天后，政府寄出另一份包含罚款金额的账单，并给予内格雷特10天时间通过电子邮件提出上诉。内格雷特于6月12日回复，提供了他居住在墨西哥的补充证据，但国土安全部回应称他提交的证据不足。

蒙特斯表示，内格雷特没有直接从洛杉矶乘飞机前往蒂华纳，而是选择自驾前往，这使得他离境的文件变得复杂。他的律师称，他们已提交了证明他离开美国的证据：一位朋友和一位记者的签名声明、他在瓜达拉哈拉的租房协议、墨西哥境内的机票、一篇记录他搬家的新闻报道以及他的墨西哥身份证件。

现在，他的法律团队正在准备另一份提交材料，其中将包括来自其他国家的护照印章。

该部门还要求他通过 CBP Home 应用程序记录他的离境情况，但内格雷特表示他还没有这样做，因为他担心这些信息可能会被如何利用。

美国国土安全部在 7 月份发布的新闻稿中表示，通过使用 CBP Home 应用程序，“非法移民可以获得因未能离开该国而产生的任何民事罚款或处罚的豁免”。

7 月，两位美国参议员致信政府，要求停止罚款，称政府“滥用”了《非法移民改革和移民责任法》赋予的权力，“试图恐吓移民——其中许多人正在寻求绿卡或已在美国合法居留数十年”。

Stephanie Keith/Getty Images

去年 11 月，两名女性（化名 Maria L. 和 Nancy M.）在马萨诸塞州提起诉讼，挑战国土安全部 (DHS) 的罚款。

首席律师摩尔表示，2025 年 6 月通过的监管变更取消了对罚款接受者的几项保护，国土安全部表示，这将“使对非法移民处以罚款变得更容易、更有效”。

此前，收件人有 30 天的时间做出回应，并可以申请延期；现在，根据规定，他们只有 15 个工作日的时间做出回应。

移民此前也会收到“罚款意向通知书”，但目前的通知书则被称为“违规通知及命令”。根据新规，延期和面谈均不再提供，罚款申诉程序也已从申诉委员会移交至国土安全部（DHS）。摩尔表示，修订后的规定还取消了在最终决定作出后请求国土安全部撤销罚款的选项，因此，即使之后成为合法永久居民的人仍可能继续承担罚款责任。不过，根据新规，国土安全部可以随时重新审理决定，并酌情减少或撤销罚款。

马萨诸塞州的诉讼称，这些通知没有充分解释哪些行为涉嫌违法，而且罚款金额违反了宪法禁止过高罚款的规定。

摩尔认为，罚款被用来在经济和心理上向移民施压，迫使他们离开美国，而政府没有充分考虑一个人是否“故意”没有按照法律要求离开。

根据一月份提交给法院的文件，联邦政府指出，官员们仍然会逐案判断一个人的行为是故意的还是自愿的。

CNN已联系司法部寻求置评。

摩尔表示，罚款金额高达 180 万美元似乎是最常见的罚款金额之一，相当于五年内每天罚款 998 美元。

根据纽约大学法学院移民权利诊所8月份发布的一份报告，在接受调查的、被处以每日998美元罚款的客户的律师中，约有70%表示他们的客户已经获得或正在寻求合法身份。与内格雷特一样，超过半数的客户在收到最终驱逐令后，已在美国居住至少十年。

摩尔表示，法院于7月22日就原告提出的暂缓执行申请举行了听证会。该申请旨在阻止政府在诉讼进行期间以被质疑的方式征收或执行罚款。摩尔说，法官目前正在审议该动议，预计将在未来几周或几个月内作出裁决。

内格雷特说，由于他为美国客户工作，并使用个人纳税人识别号缴纳美国税款，他担心当局可能会扣押他的工资或采取其他追缴措施。

根据纽约大学的报告，截至5月，政府已对罚款接收者提起超过50起诉讼。报告指出，如果诉讼成功，政府可以扣押罚款接收者的工资、对其财产设置留置权或冻结其银行账户资金。报告还指出，根据法律法规，联邦政府无需在追讨诉讼中作出裁决，即可通过行政手段扣押工资。

报告称，罚款主要影响的是根本无力支付罚款的工薪阶层。

蒙特斯表示，目前还不清楚政府打算如何收取罚款，或者是否可以扣押内格雷特在美国的工资。

为了确保在纠纷导致收入中断时仍有住处，内格雷特现在正在努力存钱并提前支付房租。

他说，他并不打算搬回美国，但希望在10年入境禁令到期后能有机会探望亲人。他的母亲住在丹佛，父亲和大多数兄弟姐妹住在加利福尼亚州的波莫纳。由于他的父母拥有合法身份，兄弟姐妹是美国公民，所以他们可以去探望他。

内格雷特虽然不后悔离开，但他表示，如果当初咨询过法律意见，或许会改变他离开的方式。搬家后，内格雷特的律师告诉他，他童年时期的人口贩卖经历或许能帮助他获得合法身份。

“我仍然相信，当时我做出了自己认为最好的决定，”内格雷特说。

他说，搬到墨西哥让他有机会去旅行，并考虑购买房产——这些在洛杉矶是他无法想象的。

但内格雷特和蒙特斯强烈敦促考虑离开美国的无证移民先咨询移民律师，调查所有可能的救济途径，并了解离开的后果。

他对其他人的建议是：“咨询律师……千万不要像我一样做事。”

内格雷特说他想念洛杉矶的很多东西：他的“家人”、和他的垒球队一起打球、每周三和博伊尔高地桥跑者一起跑步以及周末的市中心夜生活。

“但我并不怀念生活在迫害之下的日子，”他说。