Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers
Source: The City magazine
CRIME
Fake Immigration Courts Take Advantage of Immigrants Desperate for Answers
Immigrants seeking legal help online to protect themselves from Trump's deportation plans are increasingly falling prey to costly scams.
BY ROMMEL H. OJEDA, DOCUMENTED
JUNE 9, 2025, 2:53 P.M.
Courtesy of Envision Freedom Fund. Credit: Illustration by Rommel H. Ojeda for Documented
This story was originally published by Documented.
The day of his final immigration hearing, N., who asked Documented to use only his first initial due to fear of retaliation, was ecstatic. He joined the virtual session via a private link sent by his lawyer, dressed in a button-down shirt to look presentable for what seemed to resemble a normal court. ... On screen, the judge, wearing a black gown and sitting next to an American flag, told him his deportation would be pardoned -- and that he would be eligible to apply for a green card.
N. described his emotions at that moment: "It makes you happy because it's been a while since you have seen your family. And you become illusioned that the moment [of legalization] will arrive and that you will hug them." ... But the pardon he received that day was fake, part of an intricate scheme by a group of scammers who had N. attend fake immigration court hearings and ICE check-ins for six long months.
The 31-year-old asylum seeker's story is part of a broader trend of immigrants falling victim to elaborate scams on social media platforms while seeking legal assistance to avoid deportation under President Trump's most recent crackdown. In New York City alone, immigration-related scams rose by 27% last year, according to the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), though advocates and lawmakers say the real number is likely much higher due to language barriers and underreporting.
Beyond the financial toll, the scams can have devastating legal consequences for the victims. The fake lawyer had instructed N. to avoid his in-person hearing with the courts, as it would pose the risk of detention and told him that the online sessions they had scheduled would be safer. Missing your court hearing may result in being ordered deported "in absentia."As a result, N. was ordered deported after missing his real court hearing.
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Read more: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/06/09/fake-immigration-courts-scam-judge/
Reposted by Kevin M. Kruse
https://bsky.app/profile/kevinmkruse.bsky.social
This is the kind of thing that is going to happen constantly now that we have an unaccountable masked gang with complete impunity: Random scammers, stalkers and criminals are just going to pretend to be ICE, because why not?
— Tim Onion (@bencollins.bsky.social) 2025-06-09T20:42:28.101Z
Tim Onion
@bencollins.bsky.social
Follow
This is the kind of thing that is going to happen constantly now that we have an unaccountable masked gang with complete impunity: Random scammers, stalkers and criminals are just going to pretend to be ICE, because why not?
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
@reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
· 3h
This story is horrifying. Scammers got people to pay thousands of dollars to hire a fake lawyer. To keep the scam going and keep the money flowing, the scammers also set up fake USCIS appointments, fake ICE check-ins, and fake court hearings.
Worse, they told one guy to skip his real court hearing.
Photo caption: Screenshot of a virtual hearing with a fake USCIS officer, held via Zoom. Courtesy of Envision Freedom Fund. The photo shows someone wearing a pretty cheap-looking police uniform with a badge around his neck sitting in front of a computer. There's an American flag in the foreground, a USCIS log in the background, a box with "proceedings" written on it sitting on a shelf in the background, some random binders and papers on the shelf as well, and a small framed picture of Biden with two small succulents on each side sitting on the shelf.
ALT
June 9, 2025 at 4:42 PM
= new reply since forum marked as read
