DHS orders ICE to target immigration lawyers in asylum fraud cases

DHS ordered ICE lawyers to sharpen fraud cases against immigration attorneys, a move that could turn existing civil penalties into a more aggressive test of who is helping asylum seekers and who is helping file false claims. In a memo dated May 26, DHS General Counsel James Percival directed attorneys in the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor to develop anti-fraud policies for “robust enforcement” of federal law, and said enforcement efforts should include immigration lawyers accused of filing false asylum claims in immigration court.

The memo does not create new penalties. Instead, it tells ICE lawyers to use existing administrative enforcement tools more often, including a civil penalty framework that reaches anyone who knowingly prepares, files or helps file a false immigration application. Those cases typically begin with a notice of intent to fine and can be appealed before an administrative law judge. Under Justice Department guidance, first offenses can cost up to $4,730 per fraudulent document or act, while later offenses can climb to $11,823 per document or act.

The legal backdrop matters because U.S. asylum law is broad at the front end and strict at the back end. Noncitizens physically present in the United States, or arriving at the border, can apply for asylum even if they entered outside a designated port of entry. But they still must show a well-founded fear of persecution tied to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group. That divide, between access to the process and proof of eligibility, is where fraud enforcement and legitimate advocacy often collide.

Percival’s order came after another DHS push on February 20, 2026, when the department proposed changing work-authorization rules for people with pending asylum claims in an effort to reduce incentives for fraudulent filings. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said then that more than 1.4 million affirmative asylum claims were pending, a backlog that the administration has used to argue that the system is vulnerable to abuse.

The new directive also builds on a March 22, 2025 White House memorandum that told DHS and the Justice Department to hold lawyers and law firms accountable for unethical conduct. That memo accused parts of the immigration bar of coaching clients to conceal facts or lie in asylum cases. Taken together, the two directives signal a harder line that may catch organized fraud, but also risks discouraging attorneys from taking difficult cases where lawful asylum claims depend on messy facts, incomplete records or clients who entered without inspection.