Deportation fears make immigrants easy targets for scams - BERITAJA

In the 30 years she’s lived successful New York, Odalys González Silvera said she’d seen everything. But she wasn’t prepared for what happened to her recently.

“Although I sought proposal and researched a number of things, unluckily I fell unfortunate to migration fraud. I deliberation this net point doesn’t help,” she said.

González Silvera, 61, a Venezuelan migrant and a ineligible resident of the U.S., runs a mini market shop distribution business successful the Bronx. She said her life changed dramatically aft she sought ineligible thief for a family personnel successful migration detention successful Arizona.

After seeking a lawyer location who was incapable to make advancement connected the case, González Silvera said she contacted a Facebook relationship that appeared to beryllium to a rule patient called “Berman & Associates,” wherever a personification who identified himself arsenic lawyer Enrique De Jesus Duarte promised her that he could unafraid the family member’s merchandise “within a maximum of 15 days.”

In respective WhatsApp video calls, González Silvera said, that personification explained the case’s advancement to her and past sent her documents via chat and email akin to those utilized by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that seemed to show that the lawsuit was progressing well.

Odalys González Silvera says she sought ineligible migration thief done societal media and was scammed.Albinson Linares / Noticias Telemundo

“They show you an agency pinch each their things, their diplomas and the American flag. It’s a really bully show, pinch scenery and everything. I, who was observant about truthful galore things, ended up successful a trap,” González Silvera said.

Legal and migration experts told Noticias Telemundo that fraud schemes done societal networks person go much communal successful caller months amid the surge successful migration arrests and detentions nether President Donald Trump’s administration.

A reappraisal of the Facebook relationship González Silvera responded to recovered it is nary longer active. There was nary consequence aft an effort to scope the alleged rule patient done interaction accusation provided connected a website. Additionally, Noticias Telemundo requested remark from 2 rule firms called Berman & Associates, but neither responded. There was besides nary grounds that these firms aliases immoderate of their lawyers are connected to the González Silvera case.

Noticias Telemundo besides contacted an lawyer named Enrique De Jesús Duarte, who responded successful an email that he had to create a website “aimed astatine alerting the nationalist about the anticipation that 1 aliases much group are trying to impersonate me.” Duarte added that he could not thief González Silvera’s family personnel because he has ne'er handled migration cases. “I americium sorry to perceive that personification has been the unfortunate of personality theft,” he said.

Noticias Telemundo searched nationalist records of U.S. lawyers — including authorities databases and master directories — for the names utilized by the group who contacted the victims interviewed successful this story. In respective cases, nary verifiable matches were found. In others, the names belonged to existent lawyers who indicated they had nary relationship to the events described successful this report.

As portion of this report, location were attempts to interaction the accounts, telephone numbers and email addresses utilized successful the alleged schemes, arsenic good arsenic the firms and individuals mentioned by the victims. However, astatine the clip of this story’s publication, we had not received immoderate response, nor did we find immoderate grounds that those firms aliases immoderate lawyer were related to the González Silvera case.

The emergence of scams

From the very beginning, González Silvera began paying the scammers via Zelle physics transfers. She first transferred $870 for them to return the case, past $1,230 for filling retired a form, past $2,427 for a expected bond, and she besides had to nonstop $961 for the lawyer’s expected “travel expenses,” moreover though the lawyer ne'er visited her family member. In total, she spent $5,488.

“I’m not going to get the money back, but this is simply a learning experience,” she said, adding that the worst portion was getting her detained family member’s hopes up.

González Silvera realized she was being scammed erstwhile they started asking her for an further $1,241 to bargain taxation stamps related to the Venezuelan regime.

“That’s erstwhile I said, ‘But what taxation stamps if Venezuela has nary negotiated practice successful the United States?’ But it was already excessively late,” she said.

González Silvera’s lawsuit is not unique.

Noticias Telemundo precocious published the communicative of Evelyn Molina, a Peruvian migrant and asylum-seeker who was scammed by a purported rule patient connected Facebook that promised her residency done a fictitious virtual hearing. This revealed a shape of scams involving clone rule firms and lawyer personality theft targeting hopeless immigrants.

“With caller changes successful ICE practices, these scammers are progressively utilizing blase artificial intelligence devices done societal media platforms for illustration Facebook, Instagram and particularly WhatsApp,” said Pedro Alemán-Perfecto, an migration argumentation advocator astatine CLINIC, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network. “We’ve seen about 30 aliases 40 cases of fraud successful the past year, and that’s a lot.”

The Federal Trade Commission warns that integer fraud is connected the rise: In 2024 alone, 2.6 cardinal reports of this crime were registered.

'People don't study it retired of fear'

Following the study connected Evelyn Molina’s case, Noticias Telemundo received much than a twelve complaints from Hispanic group who declare to person been victims of akin immigration-related scams.

Six immigrants successful 5 states — New York, Michigan, Florida, Iowa and Washington — mislaid betwixt $1,300 and $11,000 to criminal networks operating connected Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. All the accounts shared the aforesaid pattern: Social media ads, promises of speedy solutions, clone video telephone hearings aliases consultations, and ligament transfers made to individuals.

“Systems for illustration Zelle, Venmo and PayPal don’t person the protections of a regular bank. If personification claiming to beryllium a lawyer asks you for money that way, it’s a reddish flag,” said Jacqueline Watson, an migration lawyer and the first vice president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

A national canvass by KFF and The New York Times released successful November recovered that 41% of U.S. immigrants — including group who had go citizens aliases obtained ineligible residency — feared that they aliases a family personnel could beryllium detained aliases deported, a important summation from 2023, erstwhile 26% of immigrants felt the same. One successful 5 (22%) said they personally knew personification who had been arrested, detained aliases deported since Trump took office, about 3 times the 8% who said truthful conscionable successful April of the aforesaid year.

Three retired of 10 immigrants (30%) reported being acrophobic and said they constricted their information successful activities extracurricular the location since Trump became president — including avoiding travel, seeking aesculapian attraction aliases going to work.

According to immoderate experts, this paralyzing fearfulness and desperation are factors that scammers utilization to put their criminal schemes into action.

In about of the cases analyzed by Noticias Telemundo, the affected individuals decided not to study the scams for fearfulness that it could impact their migration position aliases processes.

“Why should we complain? Now immigrants person nary authorities here, we are worthless,” González Silvera said.

Brayan López, who lives successful Michigan, says he was scammed by a clone attorney. Albinson Linares / Noticias Telemundo

Brayan López, a 26-year-old Mexican migrant who useful successful attraction successful Detroit, knowledgeable a akin scam to González Silvera’s. He recovered a clone lawyer connected a Facebook page, identified arsenic Tomás Huerta, who subjected him to a expected charismatic proceeding via WhatsApp.

“The video telephone seemed clone to maine because the feline was moreover wearing a wig. It was for illustration a tribunal hearing, and they had the American emblem successful the background,” said López, who added he mislaid $1,300 successful the scam. “People don’t study it for fearfulness of being deported. That’s why they don’t talk about what happens to them.”

Julián Jiménez, a 40-year-old Colombian erstwhile constabulary serviceman surviving successful Kissimmee, Florida, has been waiting for asylum for six years. He said he trusted a group of scammers that utilized the sanction of Catholic Charities, one of the about respected migrant assistance organizations successful the country.

On Facebook, Jiménez clicked connected ads for a expected branch of Catholic Charities successful Washington, D.C. There, according to Jiménez, he was contacted by a man who identified himself arsenic lawyer Óscar García. García called him, reviewed his case, and promised him a way to residency, charging him a full of $4,500 successful respective installments. His case, of course, went nowhere.

“They’re utilizing our belief to scam us. It’s very sad that they’re playing pinch the feelings of group who want to beryllium successful this beautiful country,” said Jiménez, who hasn’t reported his lawsuit to the authorities. “We’re acrophobic to attack the due authorities because of each the arrests that are happening correct now.”

Julián Jiménez, seen present pinch his wife, said he was scammed by group impersonating Catholic Charities.Julián Jiménez

Catholic Charities has publicly warned that its representatives are being impersonated to scam immigrants.

“Scammers are utilizing the name, images, and likeness of Catholic Charities USA — aliases conscionable the sanction Catholic Charities successful wide — to scam immigrants by promising them services and past not pursuing through” Cecilia Baxter, an lawyer pinch Catholic Charities, said successful a caller question and reply with the Catholic Worldwide Network.

Nelson Torres Sifontes, a 40-year-old Venezuelan surviving successful Tampa, Florida, said that pursuing Trump management restrictions connected impermanent protected position and asylum, he turned to Facebook to effort to amended his migration status. He contacted personification who identified herself connected Facebook arsenic “Attorney Luciana Miller,” who promised to get his greenish paper quickly.

Noticias Telemundo recovered nary grounds of a lawyer named Luciana Miller successful the directories of the American Bar Association, successful different U.S. master directories, aliases successful web searches wrong the United States.

Torres said that they first charged him $370, and past $2,000. Although Torres says they sent him expected USCIS documents about his case, he became alarmed erstwhile they demanded an further $5,000, which he had to salary wrong a month.

He told Noticias Telemundo that what impressed him about was the sophistication of the scam, because the fraudsters replicated a virtual migration proceeding down to the past detail.

“It was truthful perfect. It’s for illustration erstwhile you spell to a judge, everything was identical, but it was virtual. A personification was dressed arsenic if they were an official, pinch the United States flag. And that’s wherever I fto myself get caught up,” said Torres, who has not revenge immoderate title pinch the authorities.

“I would for illustration to prosecute a lawyer, but I’m acrophobic because an acquaintance of excavation was already taken distant and he besides had TPS,” he said.

Rogelio Martín Morales, a 43-year-old Guatemalan migrant surviving successful Fort Dodge, Iowa, was facing delays successful his asylum lawsuit erstwhile he decided to interaction an migration rule patient done Facebook, which he began making mini payments to complete the people of a year. However, the rule patient turned retired to beryllium fake. He said he ended up losing about $11,000 done Zelle, slope transfers and remittances to individuals.

“Sometimes it makes maine sad. One time I moreover started crying. ... It’s been very hard,” Morales said.

Rogelio Martín Morales said he mislaid $11,000 to scammers who staged clone hearings and sent him what he thought were charismatic documents.Rogelio Martín Morales

Morales said the scammers group up clone hearings via video telephone and sent him purported charismatic documents. According to Morales, he realized it was a scam erstwhile the expected lawyers told him that USCIS had sent immoderate documents to his home, but because he was astatine work, the message bearer returned them, and to get them backmost he would person to salary moreover much money.

“I didn’t study that because correct now I’m afraid, mostly that they’ll drawback maine aliases return maine retired of this country,” he said.

Of the group who contacted Noticias Telemundo to stock their cases, only 1 family revenge a title pinch their section sheriff’s office, but not pinch migration authorities aliases the FBI.

This was the lawsuit of Miguel Melillo, a 51-year-old Venezuelan resident of Vancouver, Washington, who spent 2 months negotiating pinch a purported rule patient called “Sánches & Asociados,” which he recovered done an Instagram ad.

Noticias Telemundo recovered nary grounds of a patient named “Sánches & Asociados” successful U.S. lawyer directories, master registries aliases web searches.

Melillo says his first interaction was pinch a female who identified herself arsenic lawyer Victoria Hernández, who supposedly reviewed his case. He past had a video telephone pinch personification who presented himself arsenic a USCIS charismatic successful a abstraction resembling a authorities office, complete pinch the American emblem and diplomas connected the walls.

Then they explained the steps for the citizenship interview. When that time arrived, Melillo and his woman woke up astatine 5 a.m. waiting for the call. When they were yet contacted astatine 9 a.m., thing caught their attention.

The USCIS officer, Melillo said, was the aforesaid head of the rule firm, only he had grown a mustache and the agency was different. “The segment down it was thing other wholly — he had American flags and things for illustration that,” Melillo recalled. “Everything was good prepared.”

Melillo said the rule patient asked for $3,687 to “process” his greenish card. However, Melillo says he only mislaid $2,500 successful full because he stopped paying erstwhile he realized the emails he was receiving from USCIS didn’t person the “.gov” domain, emblematic of U.S. authorities agencies, but alternatively ended successful “.net” aliases “.com.”

Noticias Telemundo requested charismatic comments and information connected these types of scams from the Department of Justice, the FBI and USCIS. Only USCIS responded, done spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser, who said successful an email that the agency has declared “all-out warfare connected migration fraud successful each its forms.”

“Immigration scammers lend to an situation of disorder, undermining our migration strategy and posing risks to nationalist and nationalist safety,” Tragesser said.

USCIS pointed to a recent national lawsuit successful the Eastern District of New York successful which 5 group were charged successful February 2026 for allegedly impersonating migration judges, agents and lawyers done a web that operated connected Facebook, pinch much than $100,000 successful fraudulent transactions identified.

Noticias Telemundo besides contacted Meta, the institution that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, the 3 platforms wherever the frauds analyzed successful this reporting originated. The institution launched an investigation into the accounts connected its platforms linked to these cases and proceeded to delete them.

Daniel Roberts, a spokesperson for Meta, responded successful a connection saying the institution does not want “this type of contented connected our platforms. It violates our policies, and we region it arsenic soon arsenic we observe it.” Roberts said that Meta’s activity regarding these scams “never ends” because criminals “constantly accommodate and create caller methods to circumvent our systems.”

Meta recently revealed that successful 2025 it removed much than 159 cardinal fraudulent ads, 92% earlier anyone reported them, and dismantled 10.9 cardinal accounts connected Facebook and Instagram linked to criminal scam hubs.

The FTC, for its part, reported that successful 2024, U.S. consumers mislaid $12.5 cardinal to fraud, a 25% summation complete the erstwhile year, pinch personality theft scams being the about predominant category, pinch losses of $2.95 billion.

How to debar immigration-related scams

Experts work together connected immoderate basal recommendations for group seeking ineligible proposal related to their migration position aliases cases.

First, verify the attorney’s license. All states person a website wherever you could corroborate whether an lawyer aliases accredited typical has an progressive believe license.

Don’t salary via Zelle aliases instant transportation systems. Legitimate ineligible organizations and backstage lawyers ever coming a general statement and cod costs successful a planned manner, not instantly.

Go to offices successful person: Reliable organizations ever effort to meet pinch the customer successful personification earlier starting immoderate procedures.

Be wary of group who opportunity they could resoluteness migration cases quickly. “If they are promising to complete your lawsuit successful a month, that is not going to happen,” said Alemán-Perfecto, the CLINIC migration argumentation advocate.

Don’t motion blank forms. Scammers often nonstop forms akin to charismatic documents via societal media, but they are blank truthful that group motion them quickly without having the opportunity to reappraisal them carefully.

Consult pinch 2 aliases 3 different ineligible representatives earlier deciding whom to use. Experts insist that it’s ever important to comparison opinions.

Use reliable free resources. Websites specified arsenic cliniclegal.org, USCIS and different migration organizations connection free resources and guidance.

González Silvera agreed pinch the experts’ proposal and said she decided to stock her communicative because “people request to understand that they must beryllium very observant pinch these scams.”

In the meantime, she has hired a pro bono lawyer to thief pinch her family member’s case.

González Silvera has a proposal for those seeking ineligible proposal connected migration cases.

“I deliberation migration matters should each beryllium done successful person, going to the office, gathering the people. I thought thing could beryllium done good online,” she said. “But that didn’t activity retired astatine all.”

An earlier type of this article was first published connected Noticias Telemundo.