Immigration applicants in Stanislaus County warned of scams, opportunists

As millions of immigrants across the country seek federal protection from deportation, community advocates in Stanislaus County and the state attorney general are warning residents to be wary of scammers and opportunists looking for a big payday.

Last week, President Barack Obama announced executive orders to halt deportations for nearly 5 million undocumented immigrants, including about 4.1 million who will be temporarily protected and allowed to apply for work permits – provided they are parents, pass a background check and pay fees – and 270,000 who were brought to the country illegally as children.

This week, the state attorney general’s office cautioned that such changes to federal policy often are followed by “con artists emerging to prey on vulnerable consumers seeking help with immigration services,” according to a news release.

Homero Mejia of Congregations Building Community, a grass-roots organization that has pushed for immigration reform, said Wednesday that he has heard of some people already offering their services for a price. “I think that’s going to happen,” he said.

But he and his group are trying to inform local residents that free help is on the way. “We’re trying to get ahead of the curve and make people aware, not to sign up for anything or pay for anything in advance,” Mejia said.

CBC is pulling together volunteers and organizing a series of workshops throughout the county that will help immigrants apply for the federal program that will temporarily shield them from deportation. The first workshops will be informational and followed by several workshops that will help applicants filling out the needed forms.

The group held similar workshops in fall of 2012 after the Obama administration announced that it would ease enforcement of immigration laws, deferring deportation of young people who illegally entered the country as children with their families and have remained here ever since.

Mejia officials said they held about 16 workshops in 2012, offering information to 3,000 to 4,000 people and helping about 800 applicants submit forms to the federal government. Immigration attorneys attended these workshops to provide free legal advice.

CBC is still trying to finalize locations and dates, but Mejia said the first workshop will take place in late January in Riverbank. He also said there should be at least two workshops held in Modesto.

Mejia said there are about 40,000 undocumented immigrants in Stanislaus County, which has about 525,000 residents. It’s hard to know how many of those immigrants will qualify for Obama’s administrative action, he said.

For now, California Attorney General Kamala Harris is advising applicants that using unauthorized immigration consultants can delay their application, cost unnecessary fees and possibly lead to removal proceedings.

Here are some tips from state prosecutors on how to avoid immigration service scams:

▪ Many of these people are immigration consultants, not lawyers, and what they are legally allowed to do is limited and may not be worth what they want to charge.

▪ The new immigration rules have not been implemented. Federal immigration authorities are not accepting any requests or applications at this time. Beware of anyone who offers to help submit an application or a request for any of these actions before they are available.

▪ Walk away from an immigration attorney who is unlicensed or a representative who is not accredited. Do not be fooled; many dishonest consultants will claim to be lawyers or accredited representatives. To verify whether an attorney is licensed to practice law, check with the state bar association to verify the individual is a member in good standing of the bar of the highest court of any U.S. state.

▪ Never give an immigration consultant original documents. Only give copies of important documents such as birth certificates or passports. Keep the originals in a safe place. It is against the law for immigration consultants to keep an applicant’s original documents.

For more tips from the state attorney general, visit http://bit.ly/1Cird6D. The information also is available in Spanish online.

For more information about upcoming local immigration services workshops, call Mejia at (209) 604-8085 or visit the Congregations Building Community office at 511 Vine St. in west Modesto.

This story was originally published November 26, 2014 at 2:43 PM with the headline "Immigration applicants in Stanislaus County warned of scams, opportunists."