The numbers tell a story, and it is a story about consequences.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks announced this week that nearly all illegal immigrants detained by federal authorities will now face a $5,000 “apprehension fee.” This is not a suggestion. This is policy, enacted under provisions of the comprehensive immigration legislation President Donald Trump signed into law last July.
The fee applies to illegal immigrants ages 14 and older who entered the country without inspection. Chief Banks made the scope crystal clear in his statement: “This message applies to all illegal aliens, regardless of where they entered, how long they’ve been in the U.S., their current location, or any ongoing immigration proceedings.”
That is about as straightforward as it gets in Washington these days.
The timing of this announcement bears noting. It came on the heels of a lawsuit filed against the federal government on behalf of 21,500 immigrants who are facing daily penalties of $998, potentially reaching up to $1.8 million each for remaining in the United States illegally. Their attorneys argue these individuals were attempting to comply with federal immigration laws. The courts will sort that out, but the administration is clearly sending a message about accountability.
This $5,000 apprehension fee represents just one piece of a broader enforcement strategy. Back in October, the Department of Homeland Security announced that migrants paroled into the United States would face a separate $1,000 fee, designed to “institute accountability and prevent rampant fraud of the parole system.”
But there is another side to this coin, and it involves what DHS has called a “holiday deal of a lifetime.” The administration is offering illegal immigrants currently in the country a stark choice: self-deport voluntarily and receive a free flight home plus a $1,000 bonus. Those who take this option may also qualify for forgiveness of civil fines or penalties, potentially allowing them to return through legal channels down the road.
The mathematics here are worth examining. According to DHS figures, the average cost to arrest, detain, and deport someone runs about $17,000. Offering $1,000 and a plane ticket to encourage voluntary departure starts to look like fiscal prudence when you run those numbers.
The results speak for themselves. The Trump administration closed out fiscal year 2025 with 237,565 Border Patrol apprehensions, the lowest figure since 1970. That is not a typo. We are talking about numbers not seen in more than half a century.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin indicated in October that the administration was “on pace to shatter historic records” with 600,000 deportations projected by the end of Trump’s first year back in office. The broader picture shows more than two million illegal immigrants have left the United States this year, including 1.6 million who self-deported, 515,000 formal deportations, and another 485,000 arrests.
President Trump deployed additional personnel to the southern border after taking office and ended the “catch-and-release” policies of previous administrations. The strategy combines enforcement with incentives, penalties with opportunities for voluntary compliance.
Whether one views these policies as necessary enforcement or excessive punishment likely depends on where one sits on the broader immigration debate. But the administration has made its position unmistakably clear: the era of consequence-free illegal entry has ended.
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