ICE fines immigration attorney over $255,000 for fraudulent asylum claims
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has opened a new front in the Trump administration’s war on fraud by issuing a first-of-its-kind policy of fining attorneys who submit fraudulent asylum claims on behalf of immigrants.
James Percival, general counsel for the Department of Homeland Security, stated in X that the move put fraudsters “on alert.”
“Last month, we warned the open borders industrial complex that false asylum claims would result in fines against lawyers,” Percival wrote.
DHS on Tuesday fined an attorney more than $255,000 for submitting numerous fraudulent claims to the United States on behalf of Indian immigrants, he said.
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A U.S. Border Patrol agent leads a group of women to a van as they wait to apply for asylum between two border walls in San Diego on May 11, 2023. (Gregory Bull/Associated Press)
ICE doubled down on X, saying, “The days of lawyers abusing and defrauding our immigration system are over.”
In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, DHS said Homeland Security Investigations had filed five notices of intent to fine attorney Vinod Doddamani for allegedly submitting 64 fraudulent documents on behalf of predominantly Indian citizens.
FILE – Special agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) responded to the ban and launched a criminal investigation. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
DHS said Doddamani engaged in a nationwide practice of filing asylum applications in immigration courts on behalf of mostly Indian immigrants. In support of these asylum claims, DHS said Doddamani submitted statements that were identical or nearly identical in language and content. The agency said the affidavits contained the same or nearly the same factual narrative and supporting details regarding the alleged persecution.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Doddamani for comment.
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Homeland Security General Counsel James Percival. (DHS official portrait)
The agency said the penalties are consistent with the Percival directive issued last month, which gives ICE attorneys the authority to take enforcement actions against immigration attorneys who file false asylum claims in court.
At the time, Percival explained that “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 argue that nearly every illegal alien will be subjected to persecution or torture in his or her home country.”
“Now, with this directive, ICE attorneys have greater authority to enforce the law and stop the abuse of our asylum system by illegal aliens and attorneys,” Percival said.
In a statement shared by DHS, Percival said that “fraudulent asylum claims threaten the safety of Americans by overwhelming our burdened immigration system and delaying the deportation of dangerous criminal aliens.”
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A montage of huge lines of migrants, many seeking asylum at the US southern border. (Fox News Digital’s Kat Ramirez)
“For far too long,” he continued, “immigration lawyers have not been held to the same ethical standards as other lawyers.”
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“This will no longer be tolerated under President Trump,” Percival said.
“ICE is seeking a fine of more than $250,000 from attorney Vinod Doddamani. By holding him accountable, we are sending a message to other fraudulent immigration attorneys across the country: Your days of abusing and defrauding our immigration system are over.”
