More Immigrants Falling Victim to Fraud

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Los Angeles congressman Xavier Becerra told a story about Aaron who is a US citizen and has a father who needed immigration services. His father was approached by a man who claimed to be a lawyer, and paid him 500 dollars for his services.

"The day came for his hearing. This individual never showed up. He was not an attorney. He had stolen the information, identity theft of this attorney, and Aaron's father lost his 500 dollars. "

Stories like this happen all the time, immigration advocates met in downtown Los Angeles this morning to raise awareness and talk about the Family Unity Waiver the Obama administration is planning to implement.

Representative Judy Chu describes the problems that the new initiative plans to alleviate.

"Currently the law requires that people that enter the country without deportation must leave the country while their spouse petitions for a green card, but once they leave they can actually be kept out of the country for up to ten years unless they secure a hardship waiver. "

The Family Unity Waiver will permit families to stay together during the immigration process by allowing spouses and children to apply for a green card in the United States.

The new waiver process will begin later this year. In the meantime, the fear that getting a green card will require 3 to 10 years outside of the country has caused immigrants to trust scam artists charging large fees for help with their immigration status.

The Coalition for Human Immigration Rights of Los Angeles doesn't want immigrants to fall for scams. Here is Angelica Sales of CHIRLA.

"We have already seen notarios, bad attorneys, telling people that you can actually make use of this Family Unity Waiver. It hasn't even been moved forward. There is an amazing intention and this is the right thing to do but we want to make sure that you know that we will let you know when it is available for your use."

The news conference drew a crowd of people asking how to get their own help, proving that as more knowledge and resources are made available, the more immigrants and families can be helped.