The Department of Homeland Security is escalating enforcement against immigration attorneys it accuses of submitting fraudulent or legally unsupported asylum applications as federal immigration courts continue confronting millions of pending cases.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
WASHINGTON — Immigration attorneys who knowingly submit fraudulent documents or asylum applications without a reasonable factual or legal basis could face financial penalties and other sanctions as the Department of Homeland Security intensifies efforts to identify improper filings in the immigration system.
DHS General Counsel James Percival issued the latest warning Wednesday as the department targets what it describes as widespread use of asylum applications for purposes other than obtaining protection from persecution.
Percival said the immigration court system is carrying a backlog of nearly 3.5 million cases, including approximately 2.3 million pending asylum claims, and argued that large numbers of applications lack sufficient merit.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review separately reported in May that the overall pending immigration court caseload had fallen from approximately 4 million cases in January 2025 to fewer than 3.53 million after more than 1.08 million case completions.
DHS contends that improper asylum filings make it more difficult for applicants with qualifying claims to receive timely decisions.
Percival characterized many pending claims as “meritless” and warned attorneys that DHS intends to use available enforcement mechanisms when filings cross into fraud or other sanctionable conduct.
“Meritless asylum applications are filed to obtain work permits, to delay deportation, and to force a release from custody,” DHS said in describing the problem.
The department has made similar arguments through federal rulemaking. In a 2026 proposal concerning employment authorization for asylum applicants, DHS said prolonged asylum processing can create incentives for some individuals to file frivolous, fraudulent or otherwise meritless applications to obtain employment authorization while their cases remain pending. That is the department’s policy assessment; a pending or ultimately unsuccessful asylum case is not, by itself, proof of fraud.
Percival warned that applications lacking a reasonable legal or factual foundation “will be dealt with accordingly.”
The distinction between an unsuccessful asylum application and a fraudulent one is significant. Immigration judges determine whether applicants satisfy the legal requirements for asylum, and an application can be denied without a finding that either the applicant or attorney committed fraud.
DHS’s current enforcement campaign focuses on cases in which the department alleges attorneys knowingly submitted false material or otherwise violated immigration rules while representing clients.
The administration has pursued that approach for several months.
In July, Percival announced that DHS was seeking more than $470,000 from an immigration attorney accused of filing 118 fraudulent documents.
“We have been abundantly clear—if immigration attorneys commit fraud for their clients, the attorneys will be fined,” Percival said in announcing that action.
That case followed an earlier enforcement proceeding against another immigration lawyer.
In June, Immigration and Customs Enforcement sought a penalty exceeding $250,000 against an attorney DHS alleged had filed fraudulent immigration documents.
The June action was the first of the two attorney sanctions cited in the department’s continuing enforcement initiative, followed by the larger penalty sought in July.
Neither a DHS allegation nor a proposed administrative fine alone establishes criminal guilt, and attorneys accused of misconduct can contest the government’s allegations through applicable legal procedures.
The latest warning expands the focus beyond individual cases and puts immigration lawyers generally on notice that the department is scrutinizing asylum filings it believes are being used to prolong clients’ stays, obtain employment authorization or secure release from immigration custody without a valid underlying asylum claim.
Federal asylum law permits foreign nationals who meet statutory requirements to seek protection based on persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution connected to specified protected grounds. Immigration judges adjudicate defensive asylum cases involving individuals already in removal proceedings.
Those cases make up a substantial portion of the immigration court docket. Independent immigration research has placed the number of pending asylum cases in immigration courts above 2 million during 2026, while Justice Department figures show the broader court system continuing to handle more than 3 million pending proceedings.
The Trump administration has made reducing that backlog a priority since returning to office.
The Executive Office for Immigration Review said it reduced the overall pending caseload by more than 447,000 cases between Jan. 20, 2025, and May 2026 while increasing case completions and adding immigration judges.
DHS has simultaneously changed asylum procedures and employment-authorization rules as part of an effort to reduce processing delays and discourage applications the department considers abusive.
Percival’s warning places attorneys themselves within that enforcement strategy.
DHS says lawyers have professional obligations not to knowingly submit fraudulent materials or pursue claims without a reasonable factual or legal foundation, and the department has indicated it will pursue administrative sanctions when it concludes those standards have been violated.
Percival said DHS will “vigorously pursue all available remedies” against immigration fraud.
The warning signals that the department intends to continue using financial penalties and other disciplinary mechanisms against attorneys it determines have crossed the line from representing unsuccessful asylum applicants to knowingly facilitating fraudulent filings.
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