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DHS plans to hire bounty hunters to track deported people abroad for fines

Aug 6, 2026

DHS plans to hire bounty hunters to track deported people abroad for fines

US Customs and Border Protection is seeking to hire private investigators to locate deported immigrants and others who have left the United States in order to collect fines, according to documents reviewed by WIRED. The program, capped at $9 million over two years, would cover Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, and possibly other countries, requiring contractors to photograph homes and gather records like utility bills and employment files to confirm residency. DHS says it has issued more than $84 billion in fines to immigrants accused of failing to depart the US, charging up to $998 a day for up to five years, with some fines reaching $1.8 million. Legal experts, including NYU's Immigrant Rights Clinic, say the fines evade due process and are designed to pressure people into self-deportation.

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