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Posted on Fri, Jun. 16, 2006


Immigrants ripe for fraud
Scam artists are promising to deliver legalization through programs that don't exist
By Jessie Mangaliman
Mercury News

One day in May while waiting at a bus stop in Gilroy, two neatly dressed men carrying briefcases struck up a conversation in Spanish with Miguel Hernandez.

The pair showed the 28-year-old immigrant from Guanajuato a stack of forms labeled ``immigration'' in English, and spoke with confidence.

``They said there's going to be a new law to legalize people,'' said Hernandez, who came to the United States illegally more than two years ago.

``They told me that they could fill out my forms for $1,500 to $1,800,'' he said through a translator, ``and I could be the first to get my documentation.''

Fortunately, an English teacher Hernandez consulted told him what he suspected all along.

``It's a scam,'' said Ed Sanchez, the former executive director of the Gilroy Citizenship and Educational Program. ``And it doesn't surprise me in the least that this happened.''

The congressional debate on the future of Hernandez and 12 million undocumented immigrants is far from settled, but already, scam artists are preying on immigrant vulnerabilities by promising to deliver legalization through programs that don't exist.

``Whenever there's uncertainty,'' Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Martha Donohoe said, ``there's people waiting to profit.''

Congressional or regulatory change on immigration, draw out notarios, self-described immigration consultants, and sometimes unscrupulous attorneys, who exact thousands of dollars from unsuspecting immigrants by promising what they want the most but cannot legally have -- a green card, or permanent residence in the United States.

Last year, a San Jose couple was sentenced to state prison after being convicted of fraud and other charges in one of the Bay Area's largest immigration fraud schemes. Noel Ramayrat and Mercedes Alcantara were convicted of stealing more than $500,000 from hundreds of undocumented immigrants from Mexico and the Philippines. They falsely promised, according to court records, jobs and legalization to undocumented immigrants.

No fraud schemes have been reported in the United States since Congress started discussing immigration reform, said Sharon Rummery, San Francisco spokeswoman for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).

High alert

Still, in Santa Clara County -- known for being tough on immigration fraud -- Donohoe said the county's consumer protection unit is paying close attention. Early warnings are useful to immigrants, but they also warn scam artists that prosecutors are on high alert.

``Not everyone knows how the legislative process works,'' said Lynette Parker, supervising attorney at the Katharine & George Alexander Community Law Center, a legal clinic in San Jose that helps immigrants. ``People are calling us and asking, `Am I going to be eligible?' ''

Hernandez, who worked in a shoe factory in Guanajuato, said he knew that Congress was still debating reform. ``What I've heard is they may approve the law,'' he said wistfully. ``Of course that's what I hope.''

Although no amnesty program is in place, inquiries from immigrants are beginning to flow in to advocates and lawyers across the country about the unsettled legislation.

``It's something that needs to be taken seriously,'' said Crystal Williams, deputy director for programs at the American Immigration Lawyers Association in Washington, D.C. ``We're keeping our members well-informed of immigration law. They should all be aware that there is no amnesty.''

Sanchez has received about a dozen calls in the last month. Adriana Gonzalez, immigration and citizenship program director at the Center for Employment Training in San Jose, has received queries about ``what kind of form'' to submit for legalization.

``Unfortunately in times like these,'' Gonzalez said, ``many unscrupulous people take advantage of uninformed immigrants.''

False rumor

Immigrants have also called Sanchez to inquire about something they've heard: that if they called their congressman, they'll get an orange card and they'll get residence status. It's false.

The orange card refers to a proposal introduced by U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would expand the pool of undocumented immigrants who could apply for legalization, if such a program were approved by Congress.

``Immigrant communities want to believe there's going to be something. There are a lot of rumor mills,'' said Nora Privitera, a lawyer with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco. ``It's a golden opportunity. It's a complete rip-off.''

In April, the CIS issued the first government warning, sending it to immigrant organizations around the country.

``If there's something you want very badly, and you're willing to pay money to get in line,'' said Rummery of CIS, ``you're ripe to be exploited.''

``We're telling immigrants and everyone who works with them, keep your money in your pocket,'' she said.

The one-paragraph warning is posted on the CIS Web site (www.uscis.gov). Sanchez made copies and distributed them to English and citizenship classes in Gilroy. Gonzalez did the same in San Jose.

Privitera and other immigration lawyers at the ILRC distributed fliers warning of fraud in Spanish and English to immigrant communities. The same warning was sent by e-mail to clients and other immigrant advocacy groups.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have yet to call a conference committee to work out the differences between the competing immigration reform bills. Their differences could not be more stark in their proposed solutions to solving illegal immigration. The House wants to make it a crime to be an undocumented immigrant. The Senate wants a path to legalization and eventually to citizenship.

``We don't know what the final version is going to be,'' Parker said. ``We're all sitting tight; we're all watching and waiting.''


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Contact Jessie Mangaliman at jmangaliman@mercurynews. com or (40 920-5794.