WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up enforcement against fraudulent asylum claims, including pursuing actions against immigration attorneys accused of coaching clients to lie.
In a new directive, DHS instructed ICE attorneys to develop anti-fraud policies to more aggressively enforce a federal law that penalizes document fraud. The move gives ICE greater authority to take enforcement actions, including against lawyers who file false asylum claims in immigration court, the department said.
The announcement comes as part of the Trump administration’s broader efforts to restore integrity to the immigration system and deter what officials describe as widespread abuse of asylum protections.
“For many years, millions of illegal aliens have committed fraud in our immigration system. No place is this more rampant than in immigration court,” DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a statement. “Protection claims like asylum are intended to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but it is standard practice for immigration attorneys representing illegal aliens to assert that virtually every illegal alien is going to be persecuted or tortured in his or her home country.”
Percival said the directive provides ICE with its own tools to address the issue beyond relying on immigration judges or criminal fraud prosecutions.
The action reaffirms President Donald Trump’s commitment to cracking down on...
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up enforcement against fraudulent asylum claims, including pursuing actions ag...