Trump Administration Targets Legal Practices in Immigration Cases
A recent directive issued by President Donald Trump calls on the Justice Department to take action against legal practitioners involved in immigration cases that are deemed unethical. This directive, aimed at U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, accuses the immigration court system of being plagued by “rampant fraud and meritless claims” allegedly supported by dishonest lawyers.
Immigration attorney Mo Goldman from Tucson highlights the challenges faced by immigrants and their legal representatives in a system already under stringent supervision.
“Not only are we being watched by an immigration judge for how we approach these cases, and many of these immigration judges already are coming out of already an enforcement background, but we also have an adversary,” Goldman stated.
This adversary, as Goldman refers to, is the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement counsel, which represents the government’s stance against immigration claims. Data from the TRAC research group shows that nearly 75% of asylum cases nationwide were denied as of February.
Goldman expresses concerns over the memo’s potential effects on individual cases, noting the uncertainty surrounding its implementation.
“It’s really frustrating being in this position as an immigration attorney in 2025, where so many depend on immigration lawyers — both people who are not Trump supporters and people who are, we represent everybody,” he said. “I take great pains to explain to people what their options are, what their rights are, and how they can do things in a legal and ethical way, if that’s even possible. So this attack on our legal system and on immigration lawyers in particular is highly disconcerting.”
The directive also warns law firms against filing “baseless partisan lawsuits” that oppose the administration, threatening consequences such as the loss of security clearances and federal contracts.
“These are not frivolous lawsuits, these are legitimate claims based on what the law and constitution requires,” Goldman argued.
He points to a recent legal challenge involving the administration’s use of an 18th-century wartime authority to deport Venezuelan nationals to El Salvador amid a federal court order that temporarily halted such flights. The legality of this action is currently being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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