By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
President Obama recently made headlines with his landmark executive order that halted the deportation process for most illegal immigrants under the age of 31. The President is promising every undocumented person in the U.S. who has been in the country for at least five years, that avoid a criminal record, gets their high school diploma or GED and who was brought to the U.S. by their parents a work visa. The President and the Department of Homeland Security are still developing procedures to implement President Obama’s orders. The process to get both the “deferred action” status or to obtain the visas which will allow a previously illegal alien to become a legal U.S. resident has not yet been announced and is likely coming in August. That has not stopped some individuals and businesses from offering legal services to undocumented aliens.
The immigrant advocacy group, United We Dream released a statement, “We have been hearing stories all around the country about people taking advantage of the immigrant community. They call themselves lawyers, advocates, or notarios. They advertise their services to “help” young immigrants apply for deferred action under the new Obama policy and charge hundreds or thousands of dollars.”
United We Dream’s statement said, “No one should be taking money to help you apply at this point because no process exists yet! It would be unethical for a lawyer to accept money to help you with something when they know none of the details and the application process is not in place.”
The UWD statement concluded, “Right now, do not even know if you will need a lawyer to apply for deferred action. The process may be simple enough that most people can do it without a lawyer. When the details of the application process are available in the coming weeks, we will provide more guidance on who should use a lawyer.”
The America Immigration Attorney’s Association (AIAA) is advising the undocumented NOT to turn themselves in to “start the process.” The American Immigration Attorney’s Association said on their website that “Immigration consultants, notaries public, and notarios cannot represent you in the immigration process. These people—especially notarios—prey on immigrants, often from the same ethnic community as the notarios themselves.”
Vliet Edly with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Section will be in Auburn, Alabama on June 27th for a citizenship session. She will be also be discussing the unlawful practice of immigration law (UPIL) regarding the deferred action process. Ms. Edly said, “USCIS is concerned that unscrupulous and unauthorized practitioners may take advantage of individuals through immigration scams and promises of successful outcomes for this newly announced process. We are committed to educating those seeking immigration help.”
Ms. Edly will be at Auburn University Student Union on June 27th from 6:30 pm to 8:30pm
To learn more about notario fraud:
http://www.stopnotariofraud.org/
For more detailed information about the “deferred action” process:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/52397139/DA%20Consumer%20Advisory%20Short%20Form%20final.pdf
