It was Monday and the lunch race was in full swing in the Sancho Loco Taqueria in Newbury Park when a client was seen with a jacket with a label on the back that said “Immigration of Ice”.
This was not a true immigration official. This was, says the defender of immigrants, Primitive Hernández, “a shameless attempt to intimidate our community.”
“This is not just cruel,” he said, “it's illegal.”
There has been a growing number of reports of people who go through immigration and customs compliance agents, as well as other scams aimed at the immigrant community, says California Atty. Gen. Rob Bronta. The bad actors are “capitalizing on fear” created by the mass deportation plans of the Trump administration, he says.
On Monday, the members of the community worried alerted 805 Undocuund, a joint effort of organizations that serve immigrants in the counties of Ventura and Santa Barbara, “expressing a deep concern about this act of intimidation,” said Hernández, executive director of the group.
Staying to a federal officer is a crime that is punished with a fine or imprisonment.
“Let me be clear,” said Bonta in a statement, “[i]F that you are looking for scam or take advantage of the immigrant communities of California, will be responsible. ”
Experts, including Bonta, have shared scams related to immigration and how to protect themselves from them.
False ice agents
If a person who affirms that he is an immigration official is approaching, the best way to confirm that he is a legitimate federal officer is to request identification, according to the Bronta office. Immigration authorities carry badges and identification credentials.
How to protect yourself from someone who gets through an ice official:
- I do not sign anything. Even with legitimate ice officials, you must always understand what you are signing.
- Do not accept anything that is not written and in a language that you understand.
- You have the constitutional right to remain silent. If asked about his immigration state, where he was born or how he entered the United States, he can refuse to respond or remain silent. This applies even when the ice agent is legitimate.
The scammers who intend to be citizenship and immigration services officials of ICE or US. UU. They can also try to contact it by telephone, text message, email or on social networks.
However, immigration officials will only communicate with you through official government channels (such as your USCIS account) and will not communicate with you through your personal social media accounts, according to the USCIS website. If you have registered for cases of cases by email or telephone, always corroborate that information starting session in your account.
A false ICE agent on the phone can request personal or financial information under the appearance that there is a problem with its immigration case, which indicates that the information is necessary to avoid deportation. Immigration officers will not call to request personal or money information. ICE agents will not call to warn him that he will be arrested or arrested, according to the Office of the Attorney General.
- Do not give money or personal information For anyone who calls, send text messages or send an email, affirm that there is a problem with their status or immigration documentation.
- Do not sign an immigration form that includes incorrect information or blank spaces. Before signing any immigration form, make sure the forms are complete and precisely. If you have incorrect information, as the wrong name, then it is false. Do not let anyone persuade you to go to bed in a form or firm a blank form.
False immigration lawyers
The scammers try to confuse immigrants to think they are an immigration lawyer calling themselves a notary, notary public, accountant or consultant, according to the Federal Commerce Commission.
In Latin American countries, a notary or notary audience is a lawyer or has legal training, but that is not true in the United States.
You can seek assistance from legitimate legal assistance organizations that provide free services to low -income persons. Look in the directory of Lawhelpca.org to find an organization near you.
How to protect yourself from the scam:
- Do not hire an immigration consultant or a notary. Only lawyers, accredited representatives and recognized organizations can provide legal advice or represent it in the Immigration Court. Immigration consultants, who can call themselves immigration experts, notaries, public notaries or legal assistants, cannot do so, according to the Bronta office.
- Do not give your original documents to anyone, Unless you see a proof that the government requires the original document, according to the FTC.
You can verify if a lawyer is legitimate when looking for them on the California bar website. When searching for the lawyer, you will learn if your license to practice the law is active and find contact information.
False websites
There are illegitimate websites that claim to be connected to the ICE website.
They can use names such as “American immigration” and show images of American flags or the statue of freedom.
If the website does not end in “.gov”, then it is not a federal government website, according to the FTC.
Another red flag to consider is whether the site is trying to charge the forms that are free from the government.
And one more warning: a so -called joke
The San Pablo Police Department, in Costa Costa, recently notified the community about a blue package labeled as “is being deported” with an image of the US flag in the form of the United States. The images of the package have circulated on social networks.
Within the package there is a letter of fraud in which “people falsely claim to be immigration officials who demand personal information or payment,” the department said.
These packages are called jokes in two places where the Tiktok store and beers are sold. However, they do not seem to come with the paperwork that identifies them as false. No company responded to the request for comments from the Times.
