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A Cuban resident in Phoenix, Arizona, identified as Mario to protect his identity, received a notification from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with a fine of $1,800,000 for failing to leave the United States after a deportation order issued in 2010.
The case of Mario was reported by Telemundo 51 and is not an isolated bureaucratic accident. It is the most visible and dramatic face of a migration policy that has radically transformed the lives of thousands of emigrants in the United States since the Trump administration assumed its second term in January 2025.
The fine is based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, which authorizes daily civil penalties of up to $998 for noncompliance with deportation orders. This provision had been virtually unused for decades until the Trump administration reactivated it in 2025 as a pressure tool to force voluntary departures from the country.
Since June 2025, ICE has issued at least 10,000 fine notifications with retroactive penalties of up to five years, many of which exceed one million dollars.
The case of Mario is not the first. Another Cuban received a fine of $690,000 in July of 2025, and a third faced a penalty of $534,928 in August of that same year.
Mario has been living in Phoenix for over twenty years and claims that he was never notified of the deportation order because he was incarcerated in a state prison at that time.
Legal experts indicate that if he was not properly informed, he might have an opportunity to reopen his case, although they warn that even if he decides to leave the country voluntarily, the outstanding debt could still remain active.
"I feel like I'm going to get mentally ill because I can't handle this. It's something stressful," expressed Mario, whose case reflects the anguish faced by thousands of Cubans in irregular migration situations.
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