One Colorado immigrant seeking sanctuary in a church has received a notice from Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the intent to fine her almost $5,000 for not voluntarily leaving the United States after a deportation order.
The Trump administration threatened to impose these fines on immigrants who seek sanctuary in locations where ICE does not conduct enforcement operations, such as churches. Although the penalties are not new, imposing the financial penalties has been rare, according to reporting by the Washington Post. The notice of the fines comes days after the president delayed until after July 4 immigration raids targeting people with deportation orders.
Ingrid Encalada Latorre, a Peruvian mother of two who is in sanctuary in a Longmont church, received her notice on Monday, the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition said in a Wednesday news release.
Encalada Latorre’s notice, signed June 25, imposed a $4,792 fine, which was “adjusted for inflation,” according to a copy of the document provided by the immigrant rights group. Encalada Latorre was ordered by a judge to depart the United States by May 15, 2016, according to the document.
Another Colorado immigrant is expected to receive a fine of more than $500,000, according to the Washington Post. That person has not been identified.
In response to questions about the fine, Alethea Smock, an ICE spokeswoman, emailed a list of government regulations that allow the agency to fine immigrants who do not comply with deportation orders.
Encalada Latorre and her attorney were not immediately available for an interview on Wednesday.
In a statement from the group on her behalf, the coalition said Encalada Latorre thought her fine was “exceptionally large,” but later found out that it’s one of the smaller fines being imposed.
“This is unconscionable…,” she said in the statement. “We’ve never seen an administration add a fine onto the punishment of deportation, which is already inhumane. After three years of no word from them, they send me this letter with only 30 days to pay and it’s a lot of money for me.”
The fine is an intimidation tactic and is unjust, Encalada Latorre said. She expects more to come from the Trump administration.
“They keep closing doors on us, more and more,” she said. “Punishing our children and those that are in cages at the border. It’s something that hurts so deeply to see our community’s children dirty, unfed, caged and without proper care, being denied asylum and sent back.”
Encalada Latorre has been a leader in immigrant rights advocacy, organizing “Know Your Rights” events and educating people on the problems with using false identification, part of the No Mas Chuecos campaign. She was previously in sanctuary in a church in Boulder.
The Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition called the fines “clear tactics of retaliation,” designed to limit free speech and religious freedom from faith communities because of immigrants in sanctuary sharing their stories.
The group plans to work with sanctuary movements to appeal the fines “and end government overreach into the lives of people who want nothing more than to live in unity with their families and communities.”
