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It was Monday and the lunch rush was authentic at El San Choro Cotakelia in Newbury Park.
This was not a real immigration officer. This was a “blatant attempt to threaten our community,” according to immigration advocate Primitiva Hernandez.
“This isn’t just cruel,” she said. “It’s illegal.”
Atty, California, is seeing an increasing number of reports of people immigrating and customs enforcement agents, as well as other scams targeting immigrant communities. General Rob Bonta. The bad actors are “taking advantage of the fear” created by the Trump administration’s massive deportation plan, he says.
Hernandez, the group’s executive director, warned Monday to 805 Undocufund, a joint effort by organizations served by immigrants in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
Impersonating a federal officer is a crime punishable by fines or imprisonment.
“Let me be clear,” Bonta said in a statement.[i]fYou are responsible for seeking fraud or trying to take advantage of the California immigrant community. ”
Experts, including Bonta, share immigration-related fraud and ways to protect themselves from them.
Fake ice agent
According to Bonta’s office, if they are approached by someone who claims they are immigrant employees, the best way to ensure that they are legitimate federal officials is to ask for identity verification. Immigration authorities have identification badges and credentials.
How to protect yourself from people impersonating ice officials:
Please don’t sign anything. Even legal ICE officials need to understand what you are signing at all times. Please do not agree in writing to anything that is not included in the language you understand. If asked about the immigration situation, where you were born, and how you entered the United States, you may refuse to answer or remain silent. This applies even if ice agents are legal.
Scammers pretending to be ice or US citizenship and immigration services officials may also try to contact you via phone, text, email, or social media.
However, according to the USCIS website, immigration officers only contact us via official government channels (such as USCIS accounts) and not through personal social media accounts. If you signed up for a case alert by email or phone, always support that information by logging in to your account.
A fake ice agent on the phone may seek personal or financial information, pretending to be in trouble with the immigration case. Immigration officers do not appeal to seek personal information or money. According to the Attorney General’s Office, ice agents will not appeal to you to warn you that you will be detained or arrested.
Do not provide money or personal information to anyone who calls, texts or emails who claims that there is a problem with your immigration status or documents.
Do not sign immigration forms that contain incorrect information or blank spaces. Before signing an immigration form, make sure the form is complete and accurate. If there is incorrect information such as a wrong name, it is fake. Don’t lie down on the form or convince you to sign a blank form.
Fake immigration lawyer
According to the Federal Trade Commission, fraudsters try to think of immigrants as immigration lawyers.
In Latin American countries, notario or notary is attorney or legally trained, but that is not the case in the US.
You can seek assistance from a legitimate legal aid organization that provides free services to low-income individuals. Search the lawhelpca.org directory to find an organization nearby.
How to protect yourself from fraud:
Do not hire immigration consultants or notaries. Only lawyers, certified representatives, and recognized organizations can provide legal advice or represent you in immigration courts. According to Bonta’s Office, immigration experts, immigration consultants who may call Notarios, Notaris, Notaris, Notaries Public or Paralegals, will not provide the original important document to anyone unless they see evidence that the government needs the original document, according to the FTC.
You can check if your attorney is legal by searching for state bars on the California website. By searching for lawyers, you will learn if your license is active to practice law and find contact information.
Fake Websites
There are illegal websites that claim to be connected to ICE websites.
They can use names like “US Immigrants” and show American flags and photos of Statue of Liberty.
According to the FTC, if the website does not end with “.gov”, it is not a federal website.
Another red flag is whether the flag is trying to request you to a free form from the government.
And another warning: what is called a prank
The San Pablo Police Department in Contra Costa County recently notified the community about a blue package labelled “You’re deported” with an image of an American flag in the form of an American flag. Images of the package are distributed on social media.
Inside the package is a scam letter that “incorrectly claims that an individual is an immigrant employee requesting personal information or payments.”
These packages are called pranks at two locations for sale, Tiktok Shop and Beersy. However, they do not seem to come with documents identifying them as fake. Neither company responded to Times’ requests for comment.
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