Trump admin to charge illegal immigrants $5,000 'apprehension fee'

The US Border Patrol is set to charge illegal immigrants with a $5,000 "apprehension fee" for those caught in the country. The move is another step that the Trump administration has taken to crack down on illegal immigration.

Chief Michael Banks of the Border Patrol said of the new fee, "Under 8 USC §1815, all illegal aliens age 14 or older who entered the United States without inspection will be assessed a $5,000 apprehension fee. In addition, violations under 8 USC §2339 and 8 USC §1324 will also apply. This message applies to all illegal aliens—regardless of where they entered, how long they’ve been in the U.S., their current location, or any ongoing immigration proceedings."

The penalty had been approved under the passage of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," which was passed earlier this year. The fee will apply to those who are detained. The act also pushes $170 million to be put towards immigration enforcement over the next four years. Earlier this year, officials said that they would be charging illegal immigrants $1,000 if they were to overstay a deportation order in the US.

As of late August, per the Wall Street Journal, there had been around 21,500 fines issued in relation to the deportation, with a total of around $6.1 billion collected. The Trump administration has also tied incentives to get people to self-deport, with some being offered an incentive of $1,000 to leave the country themselves through the CBP Home app, the program that was redone after the Biden administration used the CBP One app to facilitate mass migration into the US.