Immigration

DHS Directs ICE To Crack Down on Allegedly Fraudulent Asylum Claims

It's President Donald Trump's latest attempt to restrict a form of humanitarian relief sought by millions.

Autumn Billings | 5.28.2026 4:03 PM

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced a new memo on Tuesday, directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take additional steps to enforce penalties against immigration attorneys for document fraud, including filing false asylum claims. The move is the latest in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and campaign to restrict asylum cases in the immigration court system. 

The statement quoted DHS General Counsel James Percival accusing "millions of illegal aliens" of committing fraud in the United States immigration system. "No place is this more rampant than in immigration court," Percival continued, claiming, "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 also asserted that the memo grants ICE attorneys "greater authority to enforce" penalties for document fraud already in place under the Immigration and........

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