DHS Warns Immigration Attorneys on Filing ‘Meritless’ Asylum Claims

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has cautioned immigration lawyers that filing frivolous asylum applications for foreign nationals can result in disciplinary action.

“Meritless asylum applications are filed to obtain work permits, to delay deportation, and to force a release from custody,” DHS General Counsel James Percival wrote in a Sept. 15 letter to the advocacy group American Immigration Lawyers Association.

“Claims that lack a reasonable legal or factual basis and claims filed with an improper motive are improper and will be dealt with accordingly,” the letter states.

The DHS will “vigorously pursue all available remedies” against attorneys that engage in such claims, along with imposing penalties against such attorneys, Percival said.

In order to meet the “high bar” for asylum eligibility, an applicant must demonstrate their inability to return to their home nation due to persecution or a “well-founded fear of persecution” on the basis of race, religion, political opinion, social group, or nationality. Domestic abuse and gang activity generally fail to meet the standard for asylum, Percival said.

As for persecution, it is an “extreme concept that does not include every sort of offensive treatment,” he added.

“It is more than unpleasantness, embarrassment, unfair treatment, or discrimination,” he said.

Ordinary economic hardship, personal disputes, and general conditions of unrest are not eligible under the legal standard for asylum. 

Persecution must generally have been carried out at the governmental level, and if the applicant can move to another part of the country to avoid the persecution, he will be rendered ineligible for asylum in the United States, Percival said.

According to Percival, the United States’ immigration court system is currently suffering from a “massive backlog” of asylum claims, with nearly 2.3 million pending as of July 2026.

The backlogs include a large number of applications from Western Hemisphere nations that are generally based on a fear of gang violence and other types of criminal activity. These claims are typically unconnected to government involvement and therefore do not qualify for asylum, according to the letter.

Percival called for stopping the “widespread abuse” undermining the immigration system. Treating every immigration case as an asylum claim not only overwhelms government resources, but also threatens protections reserved for refugees who are actually fleeing persecution, he said.

“Filing a frivolous asylum application generally renders an alien permanently ineligible for most forms of relief and other immigration benefits,” Percival said, adding that if accountability is not brought back to the immigration system, there is a risk of “dismantling the humanitarian safety net for those who need it most.”

The Epoch Times reached out for comment to the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), which offers legal education and professional services to more than 18,000 lawyers who teach and practice immigration law, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

‘Rampant Fraud and Meritless Claims’

In a March 2025 statement, AILA criticized an immigration-related memo issued by President Donald Trump that month. The memo raised the issue of “rampant fraud and meritless claims” in U.S. immigration, calling for law firms and lawyers to be held accountable for violating regulations governing attorney conduct.

AILA responded by rejecting the administration’s stance on the issue. Benjamin Johnson, AILA executive director, said the memo was an administrative overreach on the legal sector.

“The role of attorneys is essential to a balanced system of justice in our democracy. Lawyers have an ethical obligation to zealously advocate for their clients within the bounds of the law. This duty is not only a cornerstone of our legal system but is also enshrined in the very fabric of American jurisprudence,” Johnson said.

In May this year, DHS issued a directive to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, empowering the agency to crack down on attorneys committing fraud in asylum claims for illegal immigrants. DHS said that many immigration attorneys representing illegal immigrants tend to “frequently coach” them to lie when filing claims and hide their past.

In fiscal year 2024, the United States admitted 100,034 refugees, with the vast majority of them coming from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Near East and South Asia, and Africa, according to data from the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration.

This fiscal year, as of Aug. 31, just 12,904 refugees had been admitted, with 12,901 of them from South Africa. No refugees have been admitted from Latin America and the Caribbean so far this fiscal year.

Earlier this month, Percival said in a Sept. 3 post on X that DHS was looking to move quickly to dismiss more asylum claims deemed legally insufficient.

“If an asylum claim is facially deficient, you don’t need an evidentiary hearing. We are done wasting time and government resources indulging sham asylum claims,” Percival said.