“DOJ Seeks Sanctions Against Immigration Attorney”

Acting on a directive from President Donald Trump, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking steps against attorneys or law firms involved in “misconduct.” The Trump administration is calling for “significant financial penalties” against a California immigration lawyer who unsuccessfully attempted to prevent his client, who has an old attempted murder charge, from being deported through various courts.

The sanctions motion targets Joshua Schroeder in the case of Vang Lor, filed in the District Court of Guam, which is a U.S. territory. Initially reported by Politico, the motion claims Schroeder acted “in bad faith” and “unreasonably prolonged proceedings by supporting positions lacking factual and legal grounds,” with “clearly baseless filings in three different courts.” Schroeder’s habeas corpus petitions incorrectly argued that Lor, from Laos, was being deported under the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), though Lor faced removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act due to his prior conviction. It was also noted that Lor is not Venezuelan.

“Schroeder continued making unsupported arguments to delay Lor’s lawful extradition to Laos—not only in this Court but also in the Northern District of Texas and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,” the sanctions motion noted. “Schroeder’s unnecessary actions have burdened American taxpayers—forcing the government to address repeated, frivolous filings in three different courts; to cancel Lor’s initial flight to Laos and detain him in Guam; and to secure new travel arrangements for Laos after this Court dismissed Schroeder’s groundless petition.”

Department of Justice lawyers argued that sanctions are necessary to “discourage” Schroeder specifically, from “persistently initiating unfounded proceedings,” and to generally dissuade other lawyers from “engaging in misconduct.” This, the filing stated, aligns with the president’s March memo titled “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court.”

“As the President pointed out, the immigration system is ‘filled with cases of dishonest conduct by lawyers and firms,’ conduct that obstructs the Executive’s ability to execute the people’s will as determined by Congress,” noted the motion, referencing the memo. “Thus, this Court should impose sanctions on Schroeder[.]”

The Trump administration said it was clear that Schroeder’s AEA claims were “baseless” because Trump’s invocation of the act applied to Venezuelans alleged to be gang members, not Laotians like Lor.

“Schroeder made myriad meritless contentions in his filings in this Court. Most egregiously, Schroeder’s assertions that Lor was being removed under the AEA were baseless, and he knew they were,” the filing said. “Schroeder knew about Lor’s INA removal order throughout the proceedings in this Court.”

“And Schroeder also knew that Lor, who is Laotian, would not have been designated an alien enemy under the Proclamation and therefore was not being removed under the AEA. So Schroeder had two good reasons to question whether the AEA was really the basis for removing Lor,” the administration continued.

Even if Schroeder “did not know that his arguments were frivolous,” he “recklessly maintained his frivolous arguments,” and he should be punished for a “departure from ordinary standards of care that disregard[ed] a known or obvious risk of material misrepresentation,” the DOJ lawyers demanded, asking a judge to order up “substantial monetary sanctions” against the attorney “personally.”

Politico reported that Lor was ultimately deported to Laos, which is in Southeast Asia, in June and that Schroeder explained that he acted the way he did because of “heightened pressure” amid a time crunch of hours familiarizing himself with the ins and outs of the case before his pro bono client may have been deported.

“I had to do it very quickly, because he was in Guam and they might have taken him immediately,” Schroeder reportedly said. “So, I was just putting the basics together in my mind the way I was seeing it.”

Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle weighed in Wednesday night, posting, “In case you were wondering, representing a client pro bono is NOT a defense to lying to the court or engaging in vexatious litigation.”

In case you were wondering, representing a client pro bono is NOT a defense to lying to the court or engaging in vexatious litigation. https://t.co/k1A0syYhCL

— Chad Mizelle (@ChadMizelle47) August 7, 2025

The DOJ move to sanction Schroeder comes after years of the president’s allies complaining that Trump’s attorneys were persecuted and punished for merely advocating zealously, while pressed for time, in favor of overturning the 2020 election.