LOS ANGELES:- The US Department of Homeland Security, (DHS) on Tuesday issued strict instructions to its subordinate agencies to increase strict monitoring and action against immigration lawyers. The Trump administration has warned of strict legal action against lawyers and their clients who file asylum cases based on false statements and forged documents.

Homeland Security has issued a confidential memo to ICE attorneys instructing them to aggressively pursue administrative fraud cases. The internal directive will now target not only immigrants who lie when applying for asylum, but also the lawyers who handle their cases and teach them to lie.

Millions of undocumented immigrants have been defrauding the US immigration system for years, with the abuses most prevalent in immigration courts, according to an internal memo. The memo paves the way for ICE to fully revive existing, strict laws that have been dormant for years and use them against lawyers.

Although asylum claims are supposed to be granted only in rare and limited circumstances, the administration claims that lawyers now teach almost every undocumented immigrant to fabricate false narratives about political or ethnic risks in the country.

If a false statement is proven, the government will initially issue a notice of intent to impose a fine. If found guilty under this process, the penalties are very severe. A first-time offense can result in a fine of up to $4,730 per false document or false statement. For repeated offenses, the fine can rise to $11,823 per document.

Lawyers found guilty will be suspended or permanently banned from pleading in immigration court and their licenses will be recommended to the relevant bar association for revocation. Lawyers who engage in serious fraudulent practices will be subject to criminal prosecution and sent to prison.

Several lawyers and brokers who ran a fraudulent asylum scam in New York, Florida, and Queens have already been sentenced to between five and 20 years in prison. This new measure is part of President Donald Trump’s campaign to “protect America from the encroachment of immigrants.” In March, President Trump directed the Department of Homeland Security to crack down on lawyers and large law firms that harass the government by filing “frivolous, unfair, and vexatious” lawsuits.

Immigration lawyers and large law firms often train their clients to lie to hide their past or strengthen their asylum claims, Homeland Security claims. With this new strict guidance, it now appears that immigrants from Nepal and other countries fighting asylum cases in the United States and their lawyers will have to be extra careful when submitting legal documents and statements.