Saturday, August 15, 2009

Lawyers Prey on the Undocumented

Immigrants are susceptible to legal scams in seeking green cards and work permits. We often warn them that a "notary" does not have the same powers and function in the U.S. as a "notario" has in Mexico. If they have immigration problems, they should consult a "lawyer" or "abegado". Now. however, lawyers are joining in the scams, taking money from desperate families with promises of getting a green card or temporary work papers (H-2B visa). Not only do they fail to produce, sometimes they even get their client deported. (See New York Times article.) One lawyer in Salt Lake City is being charged by the Justice Department with having files fraudulently for 5,000 H-2B visas. As many as 300 lawyers have been suspended from pleading in immigration courts. This also creates problems for other immigration lawyers in cleaning up the mess afterward. The situation is also undermining the trust that should exist between lawyer and client.


LOS ANGELES TIMES FAULTS OBAMA ADMINISTRATION ON STANDARDS AT DETENTION CENTERS
The Los Angeles Times editorially has sided with critics of the ICE's detention centers and deplored Obama's Homeland Security in continuing most of the Bush administrations policies. It would have preferred new binding standards to redress the deplorable conditions.

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