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The immigration attorney Haim Vásquez, from the Haim Vásquez Legal Group based in Dallas and Irving, Texas, warned in an interview with Univision that leaving the United States—whether due to deportation, loss of status, or personal choice—does not automatically eliminate financial obligations incurred in the country.
The warning comes at a time when thousands of migrants, including many Cubans, are facing pressures to leave U.S. territory.
Debts do not disappear with leaving
Vásquez was straightforward: "A migration conflict is not always a valid reason to achieve debt forgiveness."
According to the lawyer, credit cards, personal loans, mortgages, and other financial obligations remain valid regardless of the debtor's immigration status.
Furthermore, it was warned that "any asset the person leaves in the country could be seized through a legal process by creditors."
Although the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects private property and the government does not automatically confiscate assets due to deportation, private creditors can initiate civil proceedings for seizure, foreclosure, or vehicle repossession as soon as payments are interrupted.
A detailed legal analysis of the assets of deported migrants explains the various possible scenarios.
The lawyer Octavio Cardona-Loya, cited in other media, summarized the most extreme scenario with a blunt warning: "If you reach that point, you lose everything."
Damage to credit history and blockage to return
The consequences are not limited to physical assets.
Unpaid debts harm credit history with bureaus like Equifax or TransUnion, and that record can become a direct obstacle for future visa applications, Green Cards, or re-entry into the country.
Debt and bad credit impact immigration procedures in ways that many are unaware of.
In addition, banks can freeze or close accounts upon detecting that the account holder has changed their address to a foreign country.
In fact, Cuban residents in the U.S. have started receiving banking alerts due to their immigration status, making remote financial management even more complicated.
Child support debts also persist after deportation and can affect citizenship applications.
ICE fines, another area of risk
Parallel to private debts, there is an additional risk for those with pending deportation orders who do not leave the country: ICE imposes fines of up to $998 per day, based on the Immigration Law of 1996 and reactivated by the Trump administration.
These fines can accumulate for up to five years, exceeding one million dollars.
Lawyers warn about these million-dollar fines from ICE as a pressure mechanism for self-deportation.
In June 2025, ICE had issued over 10,000 of these fines.
If they are not paid, the Department of Justice can seize assets, wages, and tax refunds.
There have been documented cases of Cubans with fines amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and in May 2025, a Hispanic individual received a fine of $1,771,450 for two decades of noncompliance.
What to do before leaving?
Experts agree that prior planning is essential.
Recommendations include inventorying all assets, drafting a power of attorney for a trusted representative in the United States, scheduling bank transfers, negotiating payment plans with creditors before departing, and, in the case of properties, considering selling or renting them out.
Deported migrants with properties in the U.S. face a legal limbo that can last for years.
The most urgent advice is to consult an immigration attorney before using the CBP Home application, the voluntary self-deportation program of the Trump administration that offers up to $2,600 along with a free flight.
By enabling that option, migrants may waive legal rights without fully understanding the protections for which they might qualify, warns the National Immigration Law Center (NILC).
The case of Willy Salazar, deported after nearly three decades in Texas, illustrates the limbo that can remain: he left a home he built but cannot sell or transfer it without managing appointments at the U.S. embassy from abroad, a process that can extend indefinitely.
Testimonials like that of a Cuban who self-deported to Mexico after four years in the U.S. reflect the complexity of these situations.
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