New DOJ Whistleblower Policy Bad News For Employers Of Immigrants And H-1B Visa Holders

Under a new policy, the Justice Department will prioritize whistleblower tips about employers accused of violating federal immigration law. The policy would allow the DOJ to expand efforts to prosecute employers of immigrants and H-1B visa holders. A Department of Justice memo issued in February 2025 directed federal prosecutors to prioritize immigration-related cases. The new whistleblower policy confirms that the Trump administration’s top issue remains immigration enforcement.

DOJ Expands Whistleblower Program To Immigration And Targets Employers Of Immigrants

Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the criminal division at the Department of Justice, announced an expansion of the DOJ’s whistleblower program to include immigration and other areas. “We have made changes to our corporate whistleblower program to reflect our focus on the worst actors and most egregious crimes,” Galeotti told attendees at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes Conference on May 12, 2025. “To do this, I asked MLARS [Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section] and Fraud to review the corporate whistleblower awards pilot program and recommend additional areas of focus reflecting the Administration’s priorities.”

“Today, we have added the following priority areas for tips: procurement and federal program fraud; trade, tariff, and customs fraud; violations of federal immigration law; and violations involving sanctions, material support of foreign terrorist organizations, or those that facilitate cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations, including money laundering, narcotics, and Controlled Substances Act violations,” said Galeotti. (Emphasis added.) He noted, “As with every other area in our program, these tips must result in forfeiture to be eligible for an award.”

On February 5, 2025, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo informing Justice Department employees that “immigration enforcement” tops the DOJ’s list of prosecution priorities. “The Department of Justice shall use all available criminal statutes to combat the flood of illegal immigration that took place over the last four years, and to continue to support the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration and removal initiatives,” according to the memo. She singled out prosecutions for violating the Alien Registration Act and “bringing in and harboring aliens,” a provision that authorities have not used extensively against employers.

The memo noted that failing to pursue immigration-related cases could have consequences for DOJ attorneys. “Any declinations of immigration-related offenses shall be disclosed as Urgent Reports . . . On a quarterly basis, each U.S. Attorney’s Office shall report statistics to the Executive Office for United States Attorneys.”

U.S. attorneys have received the message. On April 11, 2025, a press release in Texas was headlined: “U.S. Attorney’s Office Adds 295 New Immigration Cases in One Week.” According to the release, “Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 295 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 4 through April 10.” The press release states: “These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration . . .”

The priorities of other law enforcement personnel also have changed. “FBI field offices around the country have been ordered to assign significantly more agents to immigration enforcement, a dramatic shift in federal law enforcement priorities that will likely siphon resources away from counterterrorism, counterintelligence and fraud investigations,” reports NBC News.

Employers Of Immigrants And H-1B Visa Holders May Not See The Storm Coming

U.S. employers may not appreciate the potential impact of the Justice Department’s new focus. “Employers do not appear to grasp the depth and breadth of options DOJ and DHS may have to bring enforcement actions,” said Chris Thomas, a partner with Holland & Hart. “Though these agencies have shown restraint in the types of criminal cases they have brought in the past, employers should not make the mistake of assuming prior enforcement activity will serve as any indication of what may be coming.”

Thomas notes that being raided and hit with criminal charges can debilitate business operations and result in long-term reputational damage. Criminal exposure can include prison terms of up to 10 years per count, fines of up to $500,000 per count and forfeiture of assets.

The Department of Justice’s Criminal Division operated a Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program that compensated individuals who provided “original and truthful information about corporate misconduct that results in a successful forfeiture.” Until the recent expansion, the whistleblower information needed to relate to “(1) certain crimes involving financial institutions, from traditional banks to cryptocurrency businesses; (2) foreign corruption involving misconduct by companies; (3) domestic corruption involving misconduct by companies; or (4) health care fraud schemes involving private insurance plans.”

DOJ can apply the new whistleblower policy against employers of H-1B visa holders and other highly skilled foreign-born professionals. “It can be and will be used against H-1B employers, along with potentially companies employing L-1, O-1 and TN visa holders,” said Thomas. “If anybody blew the whistle for an employer knowingly offering false information, charges could be brought. We have even seen DOJ prosecute employers that provide misleading invitation letters for business visitors, such as B-1 or ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization], claiming that they are coming for meetings, when they are coming to engage in work.”

In recent weeks, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has issued Requests for Evidence for H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions, claiming to have “adverse information” on individuals. Those actions appear focused on specific employees rather than companies.

For the past four months, the Trump administration has laid the groundwork to pursue new criminal priorities likely to affect employers of immigrants and temporary visa holders. “As the rhetoric translates into significant raids and criminal charges, employers will be forced to take compliance much more seriously,” said Chris Thomas. “At that point, however, it may be too late.”