Massachusetts advocates warn immigration scams are on the rise. Here’s how to avoid it
NEW BEDFORD – Immigration scams are nothing new, but advocates warn they are increasing substantially as the local emergency shelter system is filling up with migrants as well as asylum seekers.
“People are so eager to get legalized that unfortunately they become victims of scams,” said Helena da Silva Hughes, president of the Immigrants’ Assistance Center (IAC). “Unfortunately, there are people providing immigration services that shouldn’t be because they don’t have the knowledge. A lot of times instead of helping, they do more damage than good.”
She said many immigrants are being affected regardless of their national origin.
“It affects Brazilians, Portuguese, Cape Verdeans, Hispanics and most recently Haitians,” she said.
To address the problem and assist local service providers to detect potential flags and take action, the IAC recently held an Immigration Scam Awareness Clinic at its New Bedford office in partnership with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA).
“This is a widespread problem,” said Michael Turi, deputy chief for the Consumer Protection Division at the Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts. “Unlicensed people are helping out with immigration forms they are not certified to work on, and they are charging large fees.”
He said these unauthorized individuals can delay immigration matters, at the very least, and pose a threat to the ability of a noncitizen to successfully qualify for immigration benefits, at worst.
In some cases, victims can be charged up to tens of thousands of dollars for services that are effectively worthless from individuals who are not licensed immigration attorneys.
“There are a lot of people out there who are out to scam immigrants,” stressed Jessica Chicco, MIRA’s Director of Citizenship and Training.
She said victims of unauthorized practice of immigration law not only face depletion of financial resources, but also tremendous loss, including dashed hopes to obtain legal status and possibly being deported from the country.
“It’s an incredibly, incredibly difficult environment,” she said.
Turi said his office has seen an uptick in scams targeting immigrant communities. He noted that scammers know the immigration process is complicated and they use the confusion it causes to try to take advantage of people looking for help.
Both Turi and Chicco warned about unauthorized practitioners of immigration law who are referred to as “notarios,” which means notary public in Spanish. In some countries notary publics have the authority to provide certain limited legal services, but that’s not the case in the United States.
Turi said securing the services of a “notario” can often lead to missed deadlines, submission of incorrect forms, and false claims on legal forms, among other issues, that can jeopardize the immigration status of an individual, potentially resulting in criminal liability and deportation.
“It’s wasting their [immigrants] time, money and has serious consequences down the road,” he said.
Turi urged individuals who suspect they have been a victim of immigration fraud to contact the attorney general’s office.
“We conduct investigations and, if necessary, we file lawsuits,” he said. “We protect and advocate on behalf of all people in the Commonwealth, regardless of their national origin and immigration status.”
USCIS Community Relations Officer John McCarthy stressed that protecting the integrity of the immigration process is a priority for USCIS. He noted that the federal agency makes it easy to report immigration fraud and abuse at https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud/uscis-tip-form.
“The USCIS is one of three immigration agencies in the United States that is not a law enforcement agency, so members of the USCIS have no authority to detain anyone and no authority to arrest anyone,” he said.
Red flags to help recognize an immigration scam
In order to avoid immigration law scams, individuals are encouraged to take the following steps:
Make sure their lawyer is licensed. Only a licensed attorney or someone specially authorized by the federal government can represent someone in court or before an administrative judge; advise whether or not they should apply for benefits or protections; or explain legal options and give legal advice.
Never pay for immigration forms, as they are available for free.
Make sure they understand any applications their attorney makes on their behalf.
Always ask for receipts for all payments.
Get copies of everything and keep all their original personal documents.
Be wary if the news is too good to be true. For example, if others have said that you don’t qualify for a green card, but this person says it will be no problem, it might be a scam.
Where can you find reputable immigration legal services?
Chicco advised anyone who needs immigration legal services in Massachusetts, to consult the directory of legal services in the Commonwealth by visiting www.masslrf.org.
Those who are seeking immigration legal assistance in other states, can visit the Immigration Advocated Network legal directory at https://www.immigrationadvocates.org/
What should you do if you think you have been the victim of immigration fraud?
Individuals who think they have been the victim of fraud should make a report as this might not only help address their situation but can potentially protect others from falling prey to similar scams.
To make a report, contact:
-The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office at 617-963-2917.
-The Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers at https://www.massbbo.org/s/complaints
-The immigration court EOIR Fraud and Abuse Prevention Program at 703-305-0470 or EOIR.Fraud.Program@usdoj.gov
-The Federal Trade Commission at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/#1
For more information about ‘Avoiding Immigration Scams and Finding Legal Help’ in multiple languages, visit https://www.mass.gov/guides/avoiding-immigration-scams-and-finding-legal-help
This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Advocates warn immigration scams are on the rise: Here’s how to avoid it
