Notice2025-17221
Certain DHS Immigration Enforcement-Related Fees Required by HR-1 Reconciliation Bill
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 8, 2025
Effective
September 8, 2025
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security Department
Abstract
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing fees established in HR-1 for certain immigration-related violations. This notice announces the new immigration enforcement-related fees that are administered by DHS and provides notice to the public that DHS will begin assessing and collecting these fees in accordance with HR-1.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 171 (Monday, September 8, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 171 (Monday, September 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43223-43224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-17221]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Certain DHS Immigration Enforcement-Related Fees Required by HR-1
Reconciliation Bill
AGENCY: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security.
ACTION: Notice of Immigration Fees.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing fees
established in HR-1 for certain immigration-related violations. This
notice announces the new immigration enforcement-related fees that are
administered by DHS and provides notice to the public that DHS will
begin assessing and collecting these fees in accordance with HR-1.
DATES: This action is effective on September 8, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Regulatory Affairs and
Policy, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Department of
Homeland Security, 500 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20536; telephone
(202) 732-6960 (not a toll-free call).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Authority
On July 4, 2025, the President signed into law the One Big
Beautiful Bill Act, Public Law 119-21, 139 Stat. 72 (HR-1). HR-1 was a
comprehensive legislative package that changed many laws and added new
laws that touch many areas of the United States Government.\1\ Among
those changes, the law established several new immigration enforcement-
related fees. The new immigration enforcement fees codified in HR-1
will be imposed on aliens in addition to any other fees authorized by
law and by the Secretary of Homeland Security.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ See HR-1, Title X, Subtitle A, Part I, sections 100001
through 1000018.
\2\ See Public Law 119-21, secs. 100016 and 100017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
These fees are for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 and are, as established by
statute, subject to annual increases based on the Consumer Price Index
for All Urban Consumers.\3\ The funds collected from these fees will be
distributed to the appropriate agency or the U.S. Treasury as mandated
by statute.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Public Law 119-21 secs. 100016(b)(2) and 100017(b)(2).
\4\ See Public Law 119-21 secs. 100016(d) and 100017(d)
regarding disposition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
II. New Immigration Enforcement Fees
This notice announces the imposition and collection of certain new
immigration enforcement fees in accordance with the HR-1. The fees will
be levied against (a) aliens who are ordered removed in absentia
pursuant to section 240(b)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA) 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5) and are subsequently arrested by U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and (b) inadmissible aliens
who are apprehended between ports of entry. See Public Law 119-21 secs.
100016, 100017. These fees are not mutually exclusive, and aliens may
be subject to the fees under both sections 100016 and 100017. DHS will
individually notify aliens to whom these fees apply and, upon
notification, provide instructions on how to pay the fees levied as of
[September 8, 2025].
The HR-1 fees are meant to cover costs to DHS and are not a
``penalty.'' Therefore, the fee does not impact U.S. compliance with
Article 31(1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention, as incorporated by the
1967 Refugee Protocol.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Article 31(1) of the 1951 Refugee Convention provides, ``The
Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their
illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a
territory where their life or freedom was threatened in the sense of
article 1, enter or are present in their territory without
authorization, provided they present themselves without delay to the
authorities and show good cause for their illegal entry or
presence.'' Although the U.S. is not party to the 1951 Convention,
it is party to the 1967 Protocol, which incorporates articles 2 to
34 of the Convention. See INS v. Stevic, 467 U.S. 407, 416 & n.9
(1984). Importantly, the term ``penalty'' in Article 31(1) is
understood to mean a criminal sanction, such as imprisonment or a
fine, Cazun v. U.S. Att'y Gen., 856 F.3d 249, 257 n. 16 (3d Cir.
2017), rather than a fee.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Section 100016. Aliens Ordered Removed in Absentia Pursuant to INA
Section 240(b)(5) and Subsequently Arrested by ICE
An alien is ``ordered removed in absentia'' under section 240(b)(5)
of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5), when the alien fails to attend
removal proceedings after receiving written notice of the proceedings
and DHS has established ``by clear, unequivocal, and convincing
evidence that the written notice was so provided and that the alien is
removable.'' \6\ As such, aliens who fall under INA 240(b)(5), 8 U.S.C.
1229a(b)(5), and are subsequently arrested by ICE are subject to the
HR-1 fee, which is $5,000 for FY 2025.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ INA 240(b)(5), 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
HR-1 provides a single exception from this fee. HR-1 states that
the ``fee described in this section shall not apply to any alien who
was ordered removed in absentia if such order was rescinded pursuant to
section 240(b)(5)(C), 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5)(C).'' \7\ See Public Law
119-21 sec. 100016(c). HR-1 also provides that no waivers are available
for this enforcement fee. See Public Law 119-21 sec. 100016(e).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ INA 240(b)(5)(C), 8 U.S.C. 1229a(b)(5)(C) (``Such an order
may be rescinded only--(i) upon a motion to reopen filed within 180
days after the date of the order of removal if the alien
demonstrates that the failure to appear was because of exceptional
circumstances (as defined in subsection (e)(1)), or (ii) upon a
motion to reopen filed at any time if the alien demonstrates that
the alien did not receive notice in accordance with paragraph (1) or
(2) of section 1229(a) of this title or the alien demonstrates that
the alien was in Federal or State custody and the failure to appear
was through no fault of the alien'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Section 100017. Inadmissible Aliens Apprehended in Between Ports of
Entry Into the United States
Section 212 of the INA (entitled ``Inadmissible aliens''), 8 U.S.C.
1182, lists the grounds of inadmissibility and generally ``defines the
universe of aliens who are admissible'' while setting ``the boundaries
of admissibility into the United States.'' \8\ Aliens who are
apprehended by DHS between ports of entry are often subject to the
ground of inadmissibility under INA 212(a)(6), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6),
which provides that any alien ``present in the United States
[[Page 43224]]
without being admitted or paroled, or who arrives in the United States
at any time or place other than as designated by the Attorney General,
is inadmissible.'' \9\ However, an alien apprehended between the ports
of entry may be inadmissible under INA 212(a)(6), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6),
and/or any other grounds of inadmissibility listed under INA 212, 8
U.S.C. 1182. Aliens who are apprehended between ports of entry and
determined to be inadmissible are subject to the HR-1 fee, which is
$5,000 for FY 2025. See Public Law 119-21 sec. 100017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\8\ Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S.C. 667, 683-84, 695 (2018).
\9\ INA 212(a)(6), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6).
Kristi Noem,
Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
[FR Doc. 2025-17221 Filed 9-5-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-CB-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 8, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.