DHS Warns Immigration Lawyers of Fines Over Frivolous Asylum Claims

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 18

A Wednesday letter from DHS counsel James Percival warned the American Immigration Lawyers Association that attorneys who file fraudulent or meritless asylum applications could face fines and other remedies.
Percival said weak claims are swelling the asylum-court backlog and are often used to delay deportation or secure work permits, as the Trump administration tightens enforcement against alleged immigration fraud.
He stressed that asylum is discretionary, not automatic, and said applicants must show persecution tied to a protected ground; claims based on private violence face a high bar unless a home government has fundamentally failed to protect citizens.
Percival also argued many recent migrants from the Western Hemisphere are driven more by economic incentives and misinformation than persecution, reinforcing the administration's push to roll back what it calls Biden-era open-border policies.
AILA had already condemned a similar 2025 Trump directive on 'rampant fraud and meritless claims' as chilling, signaling another clash between the administration and the immigration bar.