US Pursues Deportees Abroad for Hundreds of Millions in Unpaid Fines

(Bloomberg) -- The Trump administration is hiring private contractors to track down deported migrants who it claims owe the US government hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid penalties, a move that will test how far its immigration crackdown can reach across borders.

US Customs and Border Protection says it is trying to recover about $423 million in fines and fees from more than 66,300 people who have been removed from the US. Last month, the agency agreed to pay as much as $36 million to four firms to find people in Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala it claims are in arrears, according to a notice posted on a government procurement website.

The initiative marks a striking expansion of President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts that would extend the government's power over people it has already expelled from the US. However, collecting could be challenging. It's unclear whether the US can legally require people who have been removed from the country to pay. The contract notice doesn't explain how the US could compel payments or what role, if any, the governments of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala would have.

It's also far from certain whether deportees would be able to pay what the US says they owe. Many may have limited resources or lack access to a US bank account, which is required to pay the fines, according to payment methods described in federal documents. In past cases, the US has threatened that unpaid fines could affect future immigration cases.

The contractors may photograph homes or obtain utility bills, employment records or court papers to locate deportees and establish their ability to pay, according to the contract documents.

CBP awarded the two-year contracts last month to Global Recovery Group, The Baptiste Group, Caduceus Inc. and Response AI Solutions, according to federal records. Each agreement has a maximum value of $9 million. The companies didn't respond to requests for comment.

The amount CBP is trying to collect represents only a small portion of the larger pool of penalties imposed by the US Department of Homeland Security. From Trump's return to office on Jan. 20, 2025, through July 16, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, DHS's enforcement arm, issued more than 103,000 civil fines totaling more than $84 billion, according to DHS. By July 16, the government had collected just $1.2 million.