Jeff DeCristofaro is the executive director of the Camden Center for Law and Social Justice (CCLSJ), a nonprofit legal aid organization. DeCristofaro and his team represent clients in immigration and domestic violence cases, seeking justice for those who are often marginalized in society. One issue they confront often is “notario fraud,” a problem plaguing the immigrant community. DeCristofaro told the Catholic Star Herald about this problem in an email interview.
Learn more about the work of CCLSJ at www.camdenlawandjustice.org
Tell us a little bit about your typical week as director of the CCLSJ — if there’s such a thing as a typical week!
One of the reasons that I love my job is that every day can be different. As the director of CCLSJ my duties include overall management of the firm, grant writing to ensure proper funding, human resources for our staff, light I.T. work, meeting with other agencies to coordinate services, working with diocese, local churches, schools, police departments, and foreign government consul offices to provide outreach and information to the community, assisting our attorneys, paralegals and other staff with cases and clients, and since I am an attorney, meeting with my clients and going to the immigration field offices on their behalf or to court.
Thankfully I work with an incredibly talented and dedicated group of people. I am blessed to have the job that I have always wanted, working with people who I respect and admire.
You wrote for “New Jersey Lawyer” magazine about an issue affecting immigrant communities called “notario fraud.” Walk us through this problem.
While “notario publico” literally translates to “notary public,” the comparison is extremely misleading. Unlike notaries in the United States, whose legal authority extends little beyond witnessing signatures, notarios in many Latin American countries are fully-licensed attorneys (“abogados”).
By American standards, the position of a notario in Latin America is closer to a judge than a lawyer, with all of the resultant prestige. Not only are notarios certified to represent clients in court, dispense legal advice and facilitate legal transactions, but they are also charged with ensuring that those transactions conform to any relevant municipal, state or federal laws. In Mexico specifically, they can even collect any taxes associated with those transactions.
None of the above, of course, applies to American notaries. Therein the lies the difference, when a person, who is originally from a Latin American country seeks the services of a notario here in the United States, many times that are under the impression that the notario is empowered (and has been trained) to perform legal work on their behalf, when that is not the case.
And what is the fraud “notarios” are often committing?
While New Jersey and many other states explicitly prohibit notaries from preparing legal documents, giving legal advice or representing people in legal proceedings, individuals doing business as notarios publicos count on their victims’ understandable inexperience with the U.S. legal system, as well as any cultural or language barriers. Notarios might charge unwitting clients for free government forms, or claim a special relationship with immigration officials who might clear up deportation proceedings. Simply put, they collect crippling sums of money for work they are legally unable to do.
Not only are these notarios not permitted to do the legal work that they charge their clients for, in many instances, the work submitted on behalf of the client was done incorrectly and winds up putting the client in greater legal jeopardy.
Why are immigrant communities struggling with this?
The immigrant community has been preyed upon by notarios. The cultural differences, the language barrier, and a general lack of understanding regarding the complex U.S. legal system all combine to make immigrants the “perfect” victims for unscrupulous notarios.
The effects of notario fraud can be devastating. My office has encountered numerous individuals who were living normal, hard working lives, individuals who went to notarios for assistance with immigration issues, only to find that the notario did not submit the proper paperwork and thus cost the immigrant their chance at legal status. We have seen instances where notarios have taken astronomical fees for assistance with cases, and then did not even provide the clients with copies of the forms that the notario downloaded for free from the U.S. government website. We have seen people with no immigration issues get put in removal (formerly known as deportation) proceedings because the notario filed incorrect paperwork.
This list of horrible consequences goes on, and what is even worse is that in many, many cases by the time the victims finds out about the damage done by the notario, it is too late to fix the problem. These people are just stuck.
Once someone is stuck with uncertain immigration status due to the fraudulent actions of a notario, the last thing they want to do is contact law enforcement or any government agency and report the fraud for fear of them getting picked up by immigration. From the notario’s perspective these folks are the “perfect” victims, because they won’t turn the notario in and thus the notario is free to continue preying upon the community.
How can immigrants avoid falling prey to notario fraud? How can churches help?
Anyone seeking immigration assistance should always ask if the person they are seeing is an attorney or a BIA accredited representative (a person who has been trained and certified by the U.S. government to provide immigration assistance). You can ask for the person’s credentials to prove that they are an attorney or BIA rep. We have had clients ask us for our credentials during initials consults in the past, and I am always happy when I hear that we have been asked to prove who we are; it shows that some folks are getting the proper information that they need to protect themselves.
If the person cannot prove that they are an attorney or BIA rep, don’t use their services. Always remember if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is and you should get a second opinion.
The church continues to be a place where immigrants are welcome. Providing immigrants with information about notario fraud, and bringing in qualified attorneys and BIA accredited representatives to provide immigration law information sessions to parishioners will help to educate the community and reduce the number of people that are victimized by notarios.
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