Undocumented immigrants have been fiercely targeted by the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies, with more than 675,000 people deported since Trump returned to office, according to the most recent figures shared by the administration. But according to a recent report, efforts against undocumented immigrants are reaching well beyond U.S. borders, with Customs and Border Protection allegedly looking to hire private investigators to track down deported migrants and pressure them to pay money to the government.
Records reviewed by WIRED center on the Tracing and Payment Recovery Services Program, which allegedly allows the Department of Homeland Security to fine people for certain immigration-law violations, with those fines remaining owed even after someone has been deported. According to documents reviewed by the outlet, DHS said it had about $423 million in unpaid immigration fines and fees worldwide.
Among the types of evidence that can be used to collect the fines, documents reviewed by WIRED list photographs of individuals' homes, as well as employment records, court documents and even death certificates. So far, the list of countries includes Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras, but as noted in the documents, the list is subject to expansion.
In July, DHS said it had issued more than $84 billion in civil fines to immigrants who failed to self-deport from the United States, including a $998-per-day fine for up to five years for anyone who does not voluntarily leave after receiving a final order of removal.
Legal experts consulted by WIRED said the fine notices evade due process and are meant to intimidate people into voluntarily self-deporting using the CBP One app. Similarly, a recent report from New York University School of Law's Immigrant Rights Clinic found that immigrants accused of failing to depart have had their tax returns seized, their wages garnished and their credit scores damaged after receiving fine notices.
This approach is not new. In December, Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded similar open-ended skip-tracing contracts to 13 private companies to conduct operations in the U.S., worth an estimated $1.2 billion, which would allow ICE to receive photos and documents confirming where a person lives or works, Scripps News reported.
As noted in the WIRED report, the three debt-collection agencies used by CBP have already tried to reach people overseas by letter and phone, but as of July, they had not located a single person outside the United States.
CBP released the documents on Aug. 4 and gave companies until Friday, Aug. 7, to bid, saying late submissions would not be considered because the need was time-sensitive, WIRED said. The contract is set to run from Sept. 1, 2026, through Aug. 31, 2028.
Charles Moore, a senior attorney at the Public Justice firm, told the outlet that the move is "part and parcel" of the Trump administration's harsh anti-immigration efforts and is likely meant to deter people in the targeted countries from wanting to come to the United States in the future. He added that the fines contradict claims by the government that people who self-deport can have their fines forgiven.
"Going after folks who are abroad is going to undermine their purported promise to forgive these fines once someone has left the country," Moore said. "But that doesn't surprise me."
