New Ordinance to Help Stop Phila. Immigration Fraud

New Ordinance to Help Stop Phila. Immigration Fraud Vanessa Stine, The Legal IntelligencerDecember 22, 2014 Last spring, “Mario,” a Friends of Farmworkers client, testified at a Philadelphia City Council hearing about how he had become a victim of fraudulent immigration services. Mario lost $15,000—his entire life savings—to this fraud and, after suffering from a severe work accident that left his hand immobile, he was deported back to his home country. In his testimony, he said, “I feel like my life is over. I’ve lost my savings, my hand, and my family. I am separated from my wife and my two children, and I cannot find work to support them or myself.” He asked City Council to “do something to stop people like the man who took everything from me. My life is already over, but you can stop him from ruining other immigrants’ lives.” The man who took advantage of Mario is not a lawyer. Mario had gone to his office in Philadelphia for help filing his taxes, and when the man realized that Mario was undocumented, he told Mario that he could help him get a green card. Mario believed him because he desperately wanted it to be true, although he had always been told that there was no way under current law for him to legalize his status. In fact, any competent immigration lawyer would have known immediately that Mario was not eligible for immigration relief of any kind. Thus began Mario’s loss of an entire year’s worth of wages to a charlatan who promised him the impossible. Immigration services fraud schemes like this one are concocted by nonlawyers looking to make an easy profit by exploiting immigrants’ hopes and expectations that there must be some way to legalize their status, although under current law this is simply not true for most undocumented people. Fraudsters lie to their victims about the availability of immigration relief, about their own professional qualifications, and, often, about the total amount of money they plan to charge for their fraudulent services. These consumer fraud schemes can devastate immigrant families supported by low-wage workers like landscapers and farmworkers, who already struggle to make rent payments and put food on the table. Immigrants fall prey to these kinds of schemes because of the intense desire to legalize their status, which they often see as the first necessary step toward a better life for themselves and their children. Their vulnerabilities are exacerbated by misconceptions about how our legal system works and who can provide legal assistance. They are easily exploited because of language barriers and a fear of reporting any kinds of abuses they suffer; many come from countries where law enforcement is extremely corrupt and people are therefore not accustomed to turning to authorities for help. Victims of these schemes also often stay silent for fear of retaliation or because the scheme has resulted in their deportation and they find themselves without access to the U.S. justice system. With President Obama’s recent announcement of his executive action to implement immigration reforms, immigration services scams will be on the rise, particularly in cities like Philadelphia with large and growing immigrant populations. One way that local governments can take action to solve this problem is to regulate businesses that offer immigration-related services. Friends of Farmworkers and other allies have worked closely with Councilman Dennis O’Brien’s office over the last year on drafting an ordinance to do just that. After months of planning and many revisions, on Dec. 11, City Council answered Mario’s call to action by passing Bill No. 140142. The ordinance is expected to be signed into law by the mayor in January 2015 and will take effect six months later. This ordinance will allow legitimate businesses that provide services like translation and requesting certified copies of official documents to continue to operate and help curtail immigration services fraud by (1) requiring any business providing immigration-related services in Philadelphia to register with the city, (2) outlining prohibited activities for these providers, (3) creating safeguards to inform and protect immigrant customers, and (4) establishing enforcement provisions and penalties. Annual Registration Under this provision, any person who is required to hold a Commercial Activity License and who provides immigration-related services must register annually with the city. The registration list will be made accessible to the public and will create a mechanism by which both registered and non-registered businesses can more easily be held accountable. Consumer Education The ordinance is designed to provide immigrant consumers with accurate information, including the fact that nonlawyers should not provide legal advice or assistance. Many of the provisions specifically target commonly used deceptive practices identified by community members and immigrant advocates, and some have already been called innovative by advocates in other states. Businesses will be required to: • Post a multilingual sign, provided by the city, to warn their customers that the provider is neither a licensed lawyer nor authorized to provide legal assistance. • Provide each customer with a multilingual brochure that outlines the consumer’s rights, the provider’s responsibilities, and the steps for reporting fraud. • Provide each customer with a written contract for services in a language the customer understands, copies of any documents that are prepared, and receipts for all payments. • Obtain a bond surety. • Make certain disclosures in advertising. Prohibited Acts Under the new ordinance, registered businesses will be on notice that they may not: • Give legal advice concerning any immigration matter. • Make claims about their ability to produce particular outcomes, about special relationships with immigration officials, or about their ability to influence the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. • Keep money for services never actually performed. • Retain documents belonging to the customer upon termination of the contract. Penalties and Enforcement Upon determination by Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) that a business has violated the ordinance, L&I can suspend a business’s commercial license or issue a cease operations order. Additionally, the ordinance creates a private right of action that enables victims to bring actions for injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages. Attorneys at Friends of Farmworkers have a long history of advocacy on issues related to the unauthorized practice of law. FOF’s general counsel, Arthur N. Read, has worked on combating immigration services fraud at the state level through the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s unauthorized practice of law committee for many years. In September, FOF partnered with Equal Justice Works fellow Vanessa Stine to launch a new initiative, the Notario Fraud Project, and began providing legal assistance to low-wage immigrant workers who have been the victims of immigration services scams. While the Philadelphia City Council’s new ordinance will provide an additional level of protection for consumers of immigration-related services, this and other legal protections are only effective if properly utilized. FOF asks members of the legal community to be proactive about this problem and refer possible victims of immigration services fraud directly to us. You can reach Stine at 215-733-0878, extension 140. Together, we can help ensure that some of the most vulnerable members of our community are better protected. Members of Friends of Farmworkers, especially Meredith Rapkin and Stephanie Dorenbosch, contributed to this article. Vanessa Stine joined Friends of Farmworkers in the fall as an Equal Justice Works fellow. Her fellowship project provides direct representation, advocacy and community education to low-income consumers who have been victims of predatory and fraudulent immigration services in Pennsylvania.