The Trump administration has issued a new memo asking Immigration and Customs Enforcement to check for fraud in asylum applications.
Hundreds of immigrants enter the United States and then seek asylum, citing torture in their homeland. They lawyer up and the case moves to immigration court where these immigrants are trained on how to lie about their past and gain protection in the United States.
The Donald Trump administration will now put an end to this rampant fraud. But who will check the fraud? US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has its own lawyers, has been asked to crack down on fraudulent asylum claims, because not every immigrant may have been subjected to torture in their country of origin.“For many years, millions of illegal aliens have committed fraud in our immigration system,” said James Percival, DHS General Counsel. “Nowhere is this more rampant than in immigration court.”
“Claims for protection such as asylum are intended to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but it is standard practice for immigration attorneys representing illegal aliens to assert that almost every illegal alien will be persecuted or tortured in their country of origin.
Historically, ICE has relied on the discipline of immigration judges and criminal fraud enforcement to deter this behavior, but ICE has its own tools.
Now, thanks to this guidance, ICE lawyers have greater authority to enforce the law and stop abuse of our asylum system by illegal aliens and attorneys.In March 2025, President Trump issued a memo noting that “immigration bans, and powerful Big Law pro bono practices, too often coach agents to hide their pasts or lie about their circumstances when asserting their asylum claims, all in an attempt to circumvent immigration policies enacted to protect our national security and deceive immigration authorities and the courts into granting them undeserved relief.”
“Any effort “should include enforcement against immigration attorneys who file false asylum claims in immigration court,” the memo said.Under federal law, any noncitizen physically present in the United States or arriving in the country, including outside a designated port of entry and regardless of their status, may apply for asylum. But in order to gain approval, individuals must prove they are competent – usually by showing a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
