Homeland Security ratifies ICE civil penalties issued under 2025 interim rule

By Miriam Tolliver

WASHINGTON — Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has ratified every final civil penalty that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued under a 2025 interim rule, a step the department said it took “out of an abundance of caution” after the rule was finalized this month, according to a notice published Monday in the Federal Register.

The ratification covers final penalty decisions issued from June 27, 2025, through Oct. 13, 2026. The department said it was acting “to resolve any uncertainty” and that the ratification “is not a statement that the fines covered by this ratification would have been invalid absent this ratification.” It cited a 2019 federal appeals court ruling, Guedes v. ATF, for the principle that an agency may use ratification to cure a potential defect in an earlier action.

People who believe the interim procedures harmed them have until Nov. 16 to raise a claim with ICE by email, the notice says. ICE will decide whether prejudice has been shown and “what remedy, if any, is appropriate.” The department said the process “is not an additional appeal mechanism.”

The rule

DHS and the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review issued the interim final rule on June 27, 2025, to set “exclusive DHS procedures” for fines on immigrants who fail to leave during a voluntary departure period, willfully fail or refuse to depart after a final removal order, or are caught improperly entering the country. The rule took effect on publication and moved appeals of those penalties from the Justice Department’s Board of Immigration Appeals to DHS.

The penalties are authorized by three provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The statute allows a penalty of up to $500 a day for failing to depart after a removal order under 8 U.S.C. 1324d, a penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 for failing to depart voluntarily under 8 U.S.C. 1229c(d), and $50 to $250 per entry for improper entry under 8 U.S.C. 1325(b). Those base amounts are adjusted for inflation by regulation.

The departments said in the ratification notice that the comment period was legally unnecessary because the rule fell under two exceptions to the Administrative Procedure Act’s notice-and-comment requirements, but that they accepted comments through July 28, 2025, and received 28.

The final rule, published Oct. 14, adopted the interim rule with one change: ICE may accept a late appeal if documents show a mail delivery delay that ICE finds was beyond the person’s control. Monday’s notice says the final rule “has no material difference” from the interim rule for penalties already assessed.

What is excluded

The ratification does not cover penalties that were reversed on appeal, are pending appeal, or were reopened and rescinded under the rule. Claims must include the person’s name, date of birth, alien registration number, current address and phone number, and the penalty tracking number, and ICE says it will not review claims missing that information.

The notice does not say how many penalties were issued under the interim rule or how much was assessed. It lists the DHS Office of the General Counsel as the contact.

The Washington Inquisitor sought comment from DHS, ICE, Customs and Border Protection and immigration policy groups. They did not immediately respond to a request for comment.