DHS' top lawyer threatens penalties for attorneys clogging asylum system
The Department of Homeland Security fired off a warning shot to a major consortium of immigration attorneys as the Trump administration cracks down on fraudulent asylum claims while seeking to...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Department of Homeland Security fired off a warning shot to a major consortium of immigration attorneys as the Trump administration cracks down on fraudulent asylum claims while seeking to roll back the Biden administration's open-border policies. The warning letter marks an escalation in DHS' tactic of targeting illegal immigrants and problematic asylum seekers or green-card holders by also targeting the attorneys who represent them and seek to help them remain in the U.S. "Asylum offers protection to aliens who have fled their countries due to persecution by the government on account of a protected ground," Percival warned the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) on Wednesday. TRUMP PUTS ASYLUM LAWYERS ‘ON NOTICE’ WITH NEW FRONT IN WAR ON FRAUD "To be eligible for asylum, an alien must show that he is a "refugee" as defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A), meaning that he is unable or unwilling to return to his country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion." Percival said asylum is discretionary and not guaranteed for someone who believes they are being targeted in their home country, even if they meet the eligibility requirements. "We have been abundantly clear: If immigration attorneys commit fraud for their clients, the attorneys will be fined," Percival told Fox News Digital on Thursday. He warned of a growing backlog of asylum cases clogging up the immigration courts system and warned AILA against exacerbating it, should they then face consequences. "Filing a frivolous asylum application generally renders an alien permanently ineligible for most forms of relief and other immigration benefits ... The Department will vigorously pursue all available remedies against anyone engaging in this conduct," Percival warned in his letter. "We must restore order and accountability to our immigration framework now, or we risk dismantl…