A Southern California lady who has spent 13 years attempting to safe authorized everlasting residency says the Division of Homeland Safety hit her with a jaw-dropping $1.82 million nice for dwelling within the US undocumented — regardless of her years-long effort to do issues “the correct approach.”
Fearing for her security, the girl requested NBC7 to stay nameless. She described the second she opened the letter on Friday as totally terrifying.
“It was a shock,” she mentioned. “Once I began studying and I see the quantity – $1,820,000—it was type of insane.”
The girl mentioned she got here to the US from Mexico a long time in the past when she was about 13. A decide issued a voluntary departure order in 2003 requiring her to go away, however she had no concept it existed till immigration brokers tracked her down in 2013.
“Since then, I’ve been combating my case,” she mentioned. “I’ve been combating for this too a few years to do the correct factor.”
Her immigration lawyer, William Menard, mentioned the girl has no felony historical past, no public issues of safety, and has spent years complying with immigration authorities whereas making use of for a inexperienced card by way of her US citizen father and three grownup kids.
Menard informed the community his consumer’s case has been caught in limbo for years, tangled in pink tape as every required waiver will get misplaced within the sluggish immigration system.
“A pending inexperienced card utility doesn’t give somebody authorized standing to be in our nation,” a DHS spokesperson mentioned in a press release Tuesday. “The Trump administration shouldn’t be going to disregard the rule of legislation.”
“Our message is evident: Unlawful aliens within the nation illegally ought to depart now or face penalties,” it learn.
The Trump administration has levied billions in fines towards unlawful migrants who’ve refused deportation orders.
Immigrants have been fined a minimum of $6.1 billion since President Trump took workplace, with some folks dealing with thousands and thousands in fines for staying within the US years after they had been ordered to go away.
Menard argued his consumer’s authentic 2003 voluntary departure order capped fines at $5,000 and mentioned DHS later granted her permission to remain whereas her case crawls by way of the overloaded authorized system.
“She’s not hiding. The federal government is totally conscious of who she is and the place she is and what she’s doing,” Menard mentioned. “She’s been doing this for years, and so they rapidly determined to problem the nice now.”
Working as a home cleaner, she mentioned, paying such an unlimited nice is out of attain.
“They know that these folks can’t pay near $2 million in fines. It’s not going to occur,” Menard added.
In the meantime, in Seattle, one other particular person is locked in the same wrestle. He additionally acquired a virtually $2 million invoice from the Division of Homeland Safety, in response to KCBD.
The federal company mentioned it was a civil penalty for failing to go away the US after receiving a deportation order.
Immigration lawyer Olia Catala informed the outlet: “My consumer got here to the U.S. within the early 80s, fleeing the Vietnam Warfare. They got here as refugees from Vietnam, and so they settled in the US,” Catala mentioned.
“So he was solely 5 years previous when he got here, and he’s in his late 40s now.”
