Hundreds of migrants enter the US and then claim asylum, citing torture in their home country. They become lawyers and the case goes to immigration court as these immigrants are also trained on how to lie about their past and how to gain protection in the US. The Donald Trump administration will now put a stop to this large-scale fraud. But who will investigate this fraud? US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has its own lawyers, has been asked to crack down on fraudulent asylum claims, as it is unlikely that every migrant is being persecuted in their home country.DHS General Counsel James Percival said, “For years, millions of illegal aliens have defrauded our immigration system. Nowhere is this more so than in immigration court.” “Protection claims such as asylum are intended to cover unique and narrow circumstances, but it is standard practice for immigration lawyers representing illegal aliens to claim that virtually every illegal alien will be persecuted or tortured in his or her home country. Historically, ICE has relied on discipline from immigration judges and enforcement of criminal fraud laws to deter this conduct, but ICE has its own tools. Now, thanks to this directive, ICE lawyers have more authority to enforce the law and prevent abuse of our asylum system by illegal aliens and lawyers.In March 2025, President Trump issued a memo stating that “the immigration bar, and powerful Big Law pro bono practices, often train clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances while asserting their asylum claims, all in an effort to circumvent immigration policies put in place to protect our national security and to deceive immigration authorities and courts into granting them unwanted relief.”“The memo said any efforts “must include enforcement against immigration attorneys who file false asylum claims in immigration court.”According to federal law, any non-citizen who is physically present in the United States or arrives in the country outside a designated port of entry and regardless of status may apply for asylum. But to be accepted, individuals must prove that they are eligible – usually by showing a reasonable fear of persecution on the basis of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.