Hector “Alessandro” Negrete got the phone call nine months after he moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, hoping for a fresh start without the onerous weight of uncertainty and fear he carried in Los Angeles.

“Hey, you have something that says, ‘invoice to border patrol,’” Negrete recalls his former roommate telling him around 8 p.m. that night as he was meal-prepping after the gym. He consulted with his lawyer, and his roommate tore the envelope open.

“Vecino, what is this?” his roommate asked, calling him “neighbor” in Spanish.

Inside was a seven-digit number. He owed the Department of Homeland Security $1.8 million, the paper read.

“What the hell?” Negrete said he first thought. Perplexed, he initially believed the letter was fraudulent. He got on a FaceTime call with his roommate to process the shock.

His second thought: “Oh my God, I’m gonna lose my money. I’m gonna lose my job.”

The letter sent to his old address where he still files US taxes said he must pay a $1,820,352 civil penalty for his failure to comply with a 2009 deportation order, according to a copy of the notice reviewed by CNN.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/01/us/dhs-deportation-order-fine-immigration