The Department of Homeland Security is directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to craft new policies to crack down on immigration attorneys if they aid in filing fraudulent asylum claims.
The move is the Trump administration’s latest effort to target asylum, the legal process by which those fleeing danger and persecution can seek protection in the United States.
The Department of Homeland Security did not provide the memo but said in a press release that ICE has been tasked with developing new fraud policies and would take “enforcement actions against immigration attorneys who file false asylum claims in an immigration court.”
Attorneys are ethically obligated to provide accurate information in court proceedings and already could face disciplinary action if they fail to do so.
Nonetheless, the press release cites the statute that establishes penalties for violations of document fraud.
“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. Historically, ICE has depended on the discipline of immigration judges and the enforcement of criminal fraud laws to deter this conduct, but ICE has its own tools,” James Percival, a general counsel for the department, said in a statement.
“Now, thanks to this directive, ICE attorneys have greater...
The Department of Homeland Security is directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to craft new policies to crack down on immigration attorneys if they aid in filing fraudulent asylum...