"Out of options, Garcia, who like others in this piece is using a pseudonym to avoid retaliation, messaged a lawyer on WhatsApp he heard about from fellow bike messengers. The attorney agreed to take his case, so Garcia wired the first payment: $3,200 through a Western Union transfer. He promised to pay the remaining $2,800 once the work was completed."
"Weeks passed with no updates from the attorney. When Garcia called to ask how the case was going, the attorney reassured him: I'm revising the documents, he said. Relax, relax. Don't worry. Then the weeks became months. Garcia's court date loomed. I began to question if he was a real lawyer, Garcia said, in Spanish, and if he was a good person."
"When Garcia reached out again, he saw that the attorney had blocked his number. Days later, that same phone line was disconnected entirely when he called, it gave out a sharp noise before the line cut. Garcia was left with neither the time nor the money to find a new lawyer. He eventually appeared in immigration court without one, and now faces deportation. Garcia, unfortunately, is not alone."
An asylum seeker wired $3,200 to a lawyer contacted via WhatsApp and was told to pay $2,800 upon completion. Weeks of reassurances about revising documents turned into months without updates; the attorney then blocked the client and disconnected the phone line. The client lacked time and money to secure replacement counsel, appeared in immigration court unrepresented, and now faces deportation. Long waiting lists at nonprofits increase vulnerability, and scammers have impersonated legitimate organizations. Demand for immigration lawyers fuels proliferation of fraud. Practical tips exist to help people protect themselves from such scams.
Read at www.berkeleyside.org
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