The Trump administration issued a new memo asking ICE to check asylum fraud.
Hundreds of migrants enter the US and then claim asylum, citing torture in their home country. They lawyer up and the case goes to the immigration court as these migrants are even coached on how to lie about their past and get protection in the US. The Donald Trump administration will now put an end to this rampant fraud. But who will check the fraud? The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has its own attorneys, has been asked to crack down on fraudulent asylum claims, as it is not possible that every migrant was being tortured in their home country.“For many years, millions of illegal aliens have committed fraud in our immigration system. No place is this more rampant than in immigration court,” said DHS General Counsel James Percival. “Protection claims like asylum are intended to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but 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. Historically, ICE has depended on the discipline of immigration judges and the enforcement of criminal fraud laws to deter this conduct, but ICE has its own tools. Now, thanks to this directive, ICE attorneys have greater authority to enforce the law and stop the abuse of our asylum system by illegal aliens and attorneys.”In March of 2025, President Trump issued a memorandum pointing out that “the immigration bar, and powerful Big Law pro bono practices, frequently coach clients to conceal their past 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 the immigration authorities and courts into granting them undeserved relief.”The memo said that any effort “should include enforcement against immigration attorneys filing false asylum claims in immigration court.”According to federal law, any noncitizen who is physically present in the United States or arrives in the country, including outside a designated port of entry and regardless of status, may apply for asylum. But in order to be approved, individuals must prove that they qualify — typically by showing a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
