U.S. District Judge George O’Toole issued a ruling on Monday that halts the Trump administration’s attempt to levy fines against migrants who fail to depart the United States after being issued final deportation orders. The administration’s policy sought to impose fines reaching as high as $1.8 million in total, targeting individuals who had not complied with legal requirements to leave the country.

In his decision, Judge O’Toole concluded that the administration acted unlawfully by attempting to impose these financial penalties. The judge highlighted the "economically precarious position" of the migrants affected by the policy, suggesting that the threat of such massive fines was not a legally sound mechanism for immigration enforcement. The ruling effectively prevents the government from moving forward with the collection of these fines while the legal challenge proceeds.

This decision marks a significant setback for the administration’s broader efforts to use financial deterrents as a tool for immigration enforcement. While the administration argued that such fines were necessary to ensure compliance with deportation orders, the court found that the executive branch had overstepped its statutory authority in this instance. The ruling does not address the underlying immigration status of the individuals involved, but rather focuses on the procedural and legal validity of the proposed fine structure.