Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday introduced is in search of to high quality an immigration legal professional who allegedly filed false asylum claims — the primary time the company has filed such a declare.
Homeland Safety Investigations, the investigative arm of the Division of Homeland Safety, introduced 5 notices of intent to high quality legal professional Vinod Doddamani, who they are saying filed 32 immigration instances through which he filed 64 fraudulent paperwork.
Brandon Bell/Getty Pictures – PHOTO: The doorway to a U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) detention facility is seen following a capturing, on September 25, 2025 in Dallas, Texas.
Doddamani faces a $250,000 high quality for what DHS says is a sample of submitting allegedly false asylum claims. He allegedly filed the “an identical or almost an identical in language and substance, containing the identical or almost the similar factual narrative and supporting particulars concerning the alleged persecution,” in keeping with DHS.
The motion in opposition to Doddamani comes after DHS’s high lawyer final month directed ICE to go after attorneys who filed fraudulent asylum claims in immigration courtroom. DHS has by no means sough to punish attorneys who’ve allegedly file fraudulent claims earlier than.
Immigration attorneys say some courts are holding over 100 case hearings every day
Submitting a false immigration declare violates anti-fraud statues, in keeping with DHS Basic Counsel James Percival, and people who file them ought to be held accountable, in keeping with a memo from Percival and reviewed by ABC Information.
“Fraudulent asylum claims threaten the security of Individuals by overwhelming our burdened immigration system and delaying the elimination of harmful felony aliens,” mentioned Percival. “By holding [Doddamani] accountable, we’re sending a message to different immigration attorneys who interact in fraud throughout the nation: your days of abusing and defrauding our immigration system are over.”
ABC Information has reached out to Doddamani’s legal professional for remark.