In September 2026, the Trump administration hired four private companies to locate deported immigrants who - according to the Trump administration itself - owe the U.S. government hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid fines. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) states it is seeking to recover approximately $423 million in fines and fees from about 70,000 immigrants who have already been deported from the country. According to the CBP report, the companies Global Recovery Group, The Baptiste Group, Caduceus Inc., and Response AI Solutions were hired to spend two years searching for these immigrants, with each contract capped at a maximum value of $9 million.

The enforcement of these penalties is based, in part, on a 1996 immigration law that empowers the U.S. government to impose fines on individuals who refuse to leave the U.S. after a departure order has been issued. This measure was rarely used after its inception but saw increased application following the first Trump administration and, especially, during his second term. Since the beginning of 2025, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has issued over 103,000 civil fines totaling more than $84 billion, according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) data.

The four companies were contracted by the Trump administration to operate in three countries: Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala. In these locations, the contracted service providers verify the residence of the sought-after individual and request a facial photograph as proof that the fine notification was delivered. To carry out this task, the contractors were authorized to photograph residences or obtain utility bills, employment records, or court documents to locate deportees and assess their ability to pay. Despite their recent engagement to track down these so-called defaulters internationally in these three countries, the four companies have previously provided - or are currently providing - other services to the federal government related to immigration policies. Global Recovery Group and Response AI Solutions have already located individuals for the federal government, identifying targets of interest for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation operations, while Caduceus, the Baptiste Group, and Response AI Solutions have performed the service the government terms "safety and welfare checks" on unaccompanied migrant children arriving at U.S.borders.

According to a Bloomberg report, some deportees in Mexico are receiving overseas debt collection notices. As noted by Juan Cuellar Torres, advocacy director at the Kino Border Initiative - cited in the article - Mexican citizens deported this year are reportedly receiving collection letters at their new addresses. The notices allegedly warned that interest could be charged and that unpaid debts might be considered during future U.S. immigration proceedings. For deportees who subsequently apply for a U.S. visa or permission to return, outstanding debts could thus become yet another obstacle to immigration.

Thus, the immigration policy agenda of the second Trump administration, in addition to reinforcing its security-focused aspects, is increasingly seeking institutional support through contractors operating entirely outside U.S. territory. This raises a key question: to what extent can the U.S. government, through its transnational agents, act in ways that challenge the sovereignty of other states?