Thread: We thought everything was taken care of

'We thought everything was taken care of'
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/3534 ... 23.article)

April 23, 2007

BY ESTHER J. CEPEDA Staff Reporter ecepeda@suntimes.com
Juana Laura Rodriguez's family had done everything right in their attempt to become U.S. citizens.

They turned to friends and family who had gone through the process and asked questions: How long does the process take? And who did your paperwork?

By all accounts, the friendly woman the Rodriguez family trusted with their money and documents was a licensed "notario." "We thought everything was taken care of," said Rodriguez, 20, who came here from Michoacan, Mexico, with her family in 1993. "Then we started getting the letters from the government saying we had to appear in court because none of our papers were right."

Rodriguez and her family became victims of an often-overlooked form of immigration fraud: people looking to make quick cash by preying on illegal immigrants without legal advisers.

"We see this every single time there's any talk of immigration legislation," said Mary Lou Cabrera, spokeswoman for the Chicago office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. "There are always people out there defrauding those that are really eager to become citizens."

With three separate immigration reform proposals up for discussion in Washington, the immigration agency recently issued a warning to beware of anyone saying they can help immigrants apply for or receive benefits for a temporary worker program.

The Rodriguez family experience isn't unique, said Steve Laxton, a supervising attorney with the Chicago office of the National Immigrant Justice Center. The center estimates roughly half of the 1,900 low-income immigrants who sought legal assistance in 2006 had already paid for advice from a "notario" or immigration consultant.

In many Latin American countries, the term "notario publico" refers to someone who is licensed and has specific legal expertise. In the United States, a notary public usually has no authority to give legal advice.

The family filed a consumer complaint against their "notario" but never got their thousands back. Rodriguez has since become a permanent legal resident.

All I can say is, don't be so trusting!

All I can say is, don't be so trusting!

No lie. It's not Mexico and it's buyer beware here. Businesses target anyone vunerable so it's not a case of "targeting" illegals. From what I've seen here.....it's usually their own doing the scamming. Same with the slum lords renting them. Seems it's a bit of mis-placed trust at times.

Isn't there such a thing any more as taking responsibilty for your self and your own actions. Shouldn't she have stayed on top of this to make sure something was being done, I certainly would not have just handed everything over to someone and taken for granted they were doing something about it.