‘There’s No Way a Child Can Pay This’

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun issuing $5,000 fines to unaccompanied immigrant minors for illegally entering the United States, according to advocates and fine notices reviewed by New York Focus.

At least ten minors in New York, ages 14 to 17, received the penalties in mid-October, said Meena Shah, managing director of the Legal Services Center at The Door, a New York nonprofit that assists immigrant youth. A similar notice was reported in Michigan, where attorney Ana Raquel Devereaux of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center confirmed her teenage client had been fined while in federal custody.

Both attorneys told New York Focus that the minors live in shelters run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), which takes custody of unaccompanied children pending release to sponsors.

The fines are issued under the “Inadmissible Alien Apprehension Fee” section of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed by President Donald Trump in July. The provision authorizes DHS to levy a $5,000 penalty on individuals 14 or older apprehended between official ports of entry. The implementation of the measure had not been previously reported.

“It’s really about creating fear,” Devereaux said. “There’s no way that a child in this situation would be able to pay this, and the penalties are so severe.” Shah added that the government is “trying to pressure and coerce these young people into taking voluntary departure.”

Copies of the notices reviewed by the outlet state that “payment in full is due now,” warning that unpaid fines could result in litigation, interest charges, and negative effects on immigration cases. Advocates say similar fines have been reported in Texas and Pennsylvania.

The policy appears to have been previewed publicly weeks earlier. On September 24, U.S. Border Patrol posted a message on Facebook announcing the new “Inadmissible Alien Apprehension Fee,” stating that anyone 14 years or older who illegally entered the country could be fined. The post included a megaphone emoji and concluded: “One Big Beautiful Bill in effect:”

DHS did not answer specific questions about applying the fine to minors, instead referring reporters to a separate press release about a different $1,000 fee. Under the same law, asylum seekers must now pay $100 to file an application, $100 annually while it is pending, and $550 for a work permit. Immigrants ordered removed in absentia face an additional $5,000 fee if later detained.

Advocates warn that the fines, combined with efforts to deport or incentivize minors to leave voluntarily, place immense pressure on children who often lack legal counsel. “These are the stressors you’re putting very young kids under,” Shah said.