Thousands of immigrants seeking legal status in the U.S. are left in limbo amid multiple lawsuits accusing a Washington state immigration attorney of orchestrating a large-scale fraud scheme that allegedly exploited humanitarian visa programs while leaving clients vulnerable to deportation.
Backed by an ongoing legal ethics inquiry, the claims allege that attorney Alexandra Lozano submitted fake humanitarian visa applications, creating stories of domestic abuse and human trafficking without the knowledge or agreement of numerous clients. The plaintiffs say they spent thousands of dollars in legal costs thinking they were seeking valid immigration relief, only to later learn that bogus information had been filed in their names, the suit alleges.
Lozano constructed one of the country’s largest immigration law firms by marketing she could assist immigrants get legal status through humanitarian safeguards designed for victims of abuse and human trafficking, court documents show.
The complaints allege that her firm’s workers habitually advised customers to apply for visas under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, even when they weren’t qualified. Former clients say they were probed about personal family disagreements or problems at work, which were then inflated or converted into allegations of abuse in immigration applications.
Former clients’ lawyers also say signatures were copied onto documents without permission and that many of the applications were filled out by staff who weren’t qualified to practise law in the United States.
Immigration lawyers and advocacy groups have been appalled by the purported scope of the deception.
The Washington State Bar Association says Lozano has signed more than 53,000 pending immigration cases, but authorities have not said how many of those applications contain bogus information. Earlier this month, her law practice, Luz del Camino Legal, folded and Lozano voluntarily gave up her licence to practise law rather than go through disciplinary proceedings.
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Her lawyer has dismissed charges of major immigration fraud, saying clients were required to check and approve their applications before signing them. The defense’s position is that any incorrect information came from clients, not the legal firm.
The fallout has been disastrous for many of its former clientele.
One of the plaintiffs, Gabriel Martinez Garcia, said his family spent about $30,000 thinking Lozano would assist his mother get lawful immigration status. Rather, he says, errors and lies in her application led to his mother being placed in deportation proceedings despite her being married to a naturalised U.S. citizen.
Since then, hundreds of former clients have sought help from volunteer immigration lawyers in Washington and Oregon, many stating they still don’t know what information was filed on their behalf.
Lawyers representing impacted immigrants warn that individuals whose applications contained fraudulent assertions, even if they were ignorant of them, could face serious immigration repercussions including denial of future petitions or deportation procedures.
The debate comes amid U.S. officials’ continued tightening of monitoring of humanitarian immigration programs.
Federal officials have expressed worries about fraud after a recent surge of applications for humanitarian visas. Immigration activists, however, emphasise that prominent exploitation of the system should not diminish protections put in place for actual victims of domestic violence and human trafficking who depend on these programs for their safety and legal status.
Legal experts believe the Lozano case highlights the vulnerability of immigrants to exploitation when they place their trust in promises of fast legal fixes.
Now, Lozano and her former law company have being sued in a number of lawsuits.
One malpractice suit seeks to compensate clients who claim they incurred financial losses and immigration harm; a separate class-action suit seeks to recover legal fees paid to the firm. Former clients also are seeking copies of their immigration files so that new lawyers may verify whether misleading information was given to federal authorities.
The U.S. immigration department gave guidelines to former clients on how to alter their address, withdraw their application or continue processing with new legal representation.
The lawsuits are in their early stages and no court has ruled on the allegations against Lozano.
Still, immigration lawyers say the case has already become one of the biggest alleged legal malpractice scandals involving humanitarian visa programs in recent years. Thousands of former clients are scrambling to fix their immigration problems, many of them unsure whether they can do so before more legal implications strike.
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