A lawsuit was filed against the federal government on behalf of immigrants facing fines reaching up to $1.8 million for remaining in the U.S. illegally. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP/Getty Images)
"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, said in a news release. "In return, the government 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 officials as she attempted to become a legal permanent resident.
Despite this, she received a bill earlier this year for about $1.8 million, which appeared to be reached through daily $998 fines for the past five years.
The Department of Homeland Security purported that the lawsuit was "just another attempt to nullify federal immigration law through activist litigation." (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "have a clear message for those in our country illegally: leave now," McLaughlin said 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 report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/immigrants-fined-up-1-8-million-remaining-us-sue-trump-administration