(Illegal) Migrant Counselor Held, Faces Deportation
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Migrant counselor held, faces deportation
Dallas woman ordered to repay clients, state
07:43 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 3, 2005
By ERNESTO LONDOÑO / The Dallas Morning News
A Dallas woman sued by the Texas attorney general for defrauding immigrants by providing faulty legal aid is in need of legal advice herself.
State District Judge Jay Patterson on Monday ordered Fidelina Cuevas to refrain from counseling immigrants and demanded that she pay defrauded clients and the state almost $1 million. Two immigration agents then whisked her out of court in handcuffs after officials determined that she is in the country unlawfully.
Authorities said Ms. Cuevas, 42, appears to have resided in the country illegally for several years, running an immigration services business on Jefferson Boulevard that allowed her to deposit roughly $1.7 million in bank accounts during a five-year period.
Ms. Cuevas did not respond to questions as she was escorted out of the courthouse. Dallas attorney Steven Yu, who represented her in the state case, did not return calls seeking comment.
Federal officials established the woman's immigration status after running her fingerprints – obtained in January when she was jailed on a contempt of court order – through a federal database. They discovered that she had once falsely claimed to be a Cuban citizen in a political asylum application. Ms. Cuevas was born in Mexico.
Lying on an immigration application constitutes federal fraud, for which she could be imprisoned. Immigration officials said they are considering whether to present the case to the U.S. attorney's office in Dallas for prosecution before placing Ms. Cuevas in deportation proceedings.
"This is the ultimate justice for her," said Kim Juarez, one of Ms. Cuevas' former clients, whose husband is a Mexican immigrant and came close to getting deported because Ms. Cuevas didn't file his application properly. "Now she will have to live in poverty for the rest of her life."
Immigration officials were unable to explain why Ms. Cuevas, who managed offices in at least three states, advertised on radio stations and a Web site, and filed hundreds of immigration applications postmarked from her Oak Cliff business, didn't come to their attention sooner.
"I don't have any information about that particular part of that investigation," said Carl Rusnok, a spokesman with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigration lawyers say immigration fraud has become endemic in the Dallas area and other large American cities partly because government officials have failed to crack down on unscrupulous immigration services providers.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued Ms. Cuevas in December, saying she was providing immigration advice in violation of the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act. State officials say she scammed hundreds of immigrants out of thousands of dollars, landing some in deportation proceedings.
State officials hailed the $1 million judgment against her, but they conceded it is unlikely that Ms. Cuevas will end up reimbursing defrauded customers and the state because she has few traceable assets.
Roy Petty, a Dallas immigration attorney who represented several of Ms. Cuevas' customers, said no legal action can undo the harm she has caused.
"Fidelina Cuevas is finally experiencing the consequences of her actions," Mr. Petty said. "I'm sure a lot of people will be happy to see her get deported."
E-mail elondono@dallasnews.com
(Illegal) Migrant Counselor Held
