Title
Authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings to investigate Notario Fraud and other forms of immigration consultant fraud in the City of Philadelphia.
Body
WHEREAS, Our nation's immigration system is notoriously complex. Often immigrants seek immigration consultants to navigate this complicated system; and
WHEREAS, "Notario fraud" is the term used when referring to immigration consultant fraud.
WHEREAS, Notario fraud occurs when an individual or "notario público" provides immigration and other legal services he or she is not qualified to perform. This fraud is committed by individuals who capitalize on immigrants' vulnerability and ignorance of the United States' legal system to offer substandard, false, or nonexistent immigration services; and
WHEREAS, Immigrants are often linguistically and culturally isolated, unfamiliar with the United States legal system, and fearful of approaching government officials because they do not want to draw attention to their status; and
WHEREAS, Individuals who run immigration scams often share the ethnic background of their victims, locate their businesses in immigrant dense neighborhoods, and target advertising at their own community. They then exploit the sense of trust that being integrated into the community engenders; and
WHEREAS, Trusting and unsuspecting immigrants often pay tens of thousands of dollars for what they believe are the legitimate services of a licensed attorney only to fall victim of notario fraud; and
WHEREAS, In many cases these individuals promise to help the victim apply for immigration benefits that do not exist, file incorrect or incomplete forms, file false claims with the government or fail to file paperwork resulting in missed deadlines. As a result of the advice or actions of such individuals, an immigrant can miss opportunities to obtain legal residency, can be unnecessarily deported, or can be subject to civil and/or criminal liability for the fili...
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