DHS Plans to Prosecute Immigrants and Lawyers for False Asylum Claims
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), under Mark Wayne Mullin’s leadership, is considering legal action against numerous economic immigrants and their attorneys for allegedly submitting false asylum applications.
“For years, millions of illegal aliens have cheated in our nation’s immigration system,” stated DHS General Counsel James Percival on Tuesday. He went on to say:
Immigration court is a significant area where this issue is evident. While asylum and protection claims are meant for specific circumstances, it’s common for lawyers representing illegal immigrants to assert that nearly all of them face persecution or torture back home.
Previously, ICE had depended on immigration officer accountability and crime prevention to address this issue. However, now, thanks to this directive, ICE’s legal team will have enhanced authority to counter systemic abuses related to asylum claims.
DHS has instructed Immigration and Customs Enforcement to “create anti-fraud policies to bolster efforts against fraudulent applications,” referencing a law that outlines penalties for document fraud violations. This directive aims to empower judges to reject asylum petitions and permit ICE to deport immigrants who file fraudulent claims.
This marks a notable shift from President Joe Biden’s approach, where his administration had previously encouraged a surge of economic migrants to seek asylum for work permits and employment.
The backlog created—now surpassing 3.5 million cases—has enabled Biden’s officials to position renters, consumers, and workers in Democratic strongholds like Chicago, New York, Boston, and California. Asylum requests also facilitate quicker pathways to green cards and citizenship for certain applicants.
Surveys indicate, however, that a limited number of migrants are genuinely fleeing political threats; most are seeking asylum primarily for job opportunities.
In recent years, the federal government has pursued very few prosecutions against lawyers involved in this wave of fraudulent asylum claims, such as a case involving a fraudulent lawyer who was implicated in an asylum fraud scheme.
For instance, back in 2005, a Tibetan individual named Tenzin Norbu faced allegations of filing fraudulent claims.
For over ten years, Mr. Norbu ran a blatant fraud operation, selling fake asylum applications to those trying to gain entry into the U.S. He included exaggerated claims about facing persecution if returned to Tibet, which were fabricated stories. Norbu even coached clients on how to navigate these false narratives for a fee.
Estimates suggested that Norbu charged around $5,000 for each application, culminating in a total of $170,000 in proceeds from his fraudulent activities.
In 2023, federal officials acknowledged plea agreements with two lawyers involved in crafting false asylum claims.
A husband-and-wife team of certified immigration attorneys and their collaborators devised misleading narratives aimed at exploiting the asylum process, which is intended for those genuinely fearing persecution. Such exploitation undermines the system’s integrity and erodes trust in legal professionals.
In a separate 2018 incident, authorities noted that lawyer Andreea Dumitru submitted over 100 applications filled with inaccuracies regarding applicants’ backgrounds, including fabricating details of persecution and criminal histories.
This new initiative is just one of several measures DHS is implementing to regulate the immigration industry, especially as Congress has stalled on updating immigration laws.
Last week, for example, DHS announced that most immigrants currently residing in the U.S., including those on temporary protective status, would need to return to their home countries before they could apply for legal status or green cards.
