US Customs and Border Protection is seeking to hire private investigators to trace deported immigrants and other people who have left the United States, in order to pursue them for unpaid government fines. The contracts, covering Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala with scope to expand elsewhere, would have contractors physically locate homes, take photographs and deliver bilingual flyers listing the debts owed. Legal experts say the move marks a significant escalation in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement tactics, extending punitive fines beyond US borders and potentially deterring migration in the countries targeted.

The programme, capped at $9 million over two years, seeks "commercial data verification and physical observation services," accepting photographs, utility bills, employment or court records, or death certificates as proof of residence. DHS says it has issued over $84 billion in fines under a previously dormant 1996 law, charging $998 a day for up to five years, with some penalties reaching $1.8 million; third-party collectors have reportedly tacked on additional fees of up to $500,000. While DHS offers to waive these fines for those who self-deport via its CBP Home app, a separate $5,130 congressional fee cannot legally be waived. Existing debt collectors have so far failed to locate a single person abroad, despite an estimated 66,387 deportees carrying unpaid fines as of July.