Hundreds of immigrants enter the United States and then claim asylum on the grounds that they have been tortured in their home countries. They hired lawyers and took their cases to immigration courts, as the immigrants even received instructions on how to lie about their pasts and gain protection in the United States. The Donald Trump administration will now put a stop to this rampant fraud. But who will check for fraud? U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has its own attorneys, has been asked to crack down on fraudulent asylum claims because it’s impossible for every immigrant to be tortured in their home country.“For years, millions of illegal aliens have committed fraud in our immigration system. Nowhere is this more rampant than in the immigration courts,” said James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security. “Applications for protection like asylum are designed to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but it is standard practice for immigration attorneys representing illegal aliens to assert that nearly every illegal alien will be persecuted or tortured in their home country. Historically, ICE has relied on the discipline of immigration judges and enforcement of criminal fraud laws to stop this behavior, but ICE has its own tools. Now, thanks to this directive, ICE attorneys have greater authority to enforce the law and stop illegal aliens and attorneys from abusing our asylum system. “In March 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum stating that “immigration bans and powerful legal pro bono practices often direct clients to conceal their pasts or lie about their circumstances when making asylum claims, all in an effort to circumvent immigration policies designed to protect our national security and to deceive immigration authorities and courts into granting them undeserved relief.“Any efforts “should include enforcement against immigration attorneys filing false asylum claims in immigration courts,” the memo said.Under federal law, any noncitizen who is in the United States or arrives in the country (including outside a designated port of entry), regardless of status, can apply for asylum. But in order to be approved, individuals must demonstrate that they qualify—usually by demonstrating a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
