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Overview
- Homeland Security Investigations issued five notices of intent to fine attorney Vinod Doddamani, which on Tuesday, June 23, sought roughly $255,232 in total penalties as the agency's first such action against a lawyer.
- DHS alleges Doddamani filed 32 immigration cases containing 64 fraudulent documents and submitted declarations that were identical or nearly identical in language and factual detail.
- The notices are an administrative enforcement tool, not criminal charges, and seek the statutory maximum fine under anti-fraud statutes rather than launching a court prosecution.
- The move follows a directive from DHS General Counsel James Percival instructing ICE to pursue lawyers who file fraudulent asylum claims and includes statements framing the action as a deterrent to other practitioners.
- The case sets a test case for using administrative fines against immigration lawyers, could alter how attorneys prepare asylum filings, and so far has no publicly reported defense response or adjudicative outcome.