LOS ANGELES — The Trump administration’s heavy-handed immigration approach has left many undocumented immigrants looking for any way to legalize their status. 

However, experts warn of scammers who take advantage of such moments. 

María Gutiérrez Aragón knows that reality too well, staring at the handwritten notes of payments she made for an immigration case that never existed.

“It started [with] him charging me $800 to start the process, and then he just asked for more and more money,” Gutiérrez Aragón said. 

Having immigrated to the United States from Mexico in the 1980s and working undocumented for about two decades, Gutiérrez Aragón was desperate to gain lawful status.

She said a family friend knew this and offered to help by representing her case legally. 

But nearly a decade later, thousands of dollars spent and nothing to show for it, she ended up at the pro-bono law firm Public Counsel, where Directing Attorney for the Immigrants’ Rights Project, Gina Amato, quickly realized it was a scam. 

Amato said Gutiérrez Aragón is not alone and explains that people also commonly refer to this type of scam as “notario” or “notary fraud” because notaries public are most often the perpetrators of this crime. 

She said that in Latin American countries, a notary public can often practice law — a practice not permitted in the U.S., but many immigrants are unaware of this distinction. 

The issue has been rampant in Los Angeles for decades, but is an increasing concern under the Trump administration and its goals of mass deportation. 

“It thrives in environments like we’re living in now, where there’s a lot of fear in the immigrant community, there’s a lot of information, and the community is under attack by the administration. So people are really looking to attorneys to get legal consultations and figure out if they’re able to gain lawful status,” Amato said. 

She said that with around a million undocumented people in Los Angeles, there aren’t nearly enough resources to combat the misinformation. 

“For example, the immigration process can take a while and it can be years before you’re actually eligible for a work permit. But oftentimes the notary will say, ‘Listen, I can get you and your family a work permit within two weeks.’ And it’s very attractive to folks who are desperate to get lawful status,” Amato said. 

There are red flags people can look out for when seeking help. 

“Not being able to find any trace of this person as a licensed attorney, that is a red flag. Being asked to sign documents that were not explained to you or that are not in your language, that’s a huge red flag. Demanding payments without seeing any progress and without receiving any sort of receipt, that’s a red flag,” Amato said. 

She said that, in Gutiérrez Aragón’s case, the person scamming her falsified letters from the Department of Homeland Security. 

Although they won a civil lawsuit against the man, Amato said Gutiérrez Aragón never recovered the money she paid because the man fled. 

It’s a disappointment for Gutiérrez Aragón, who said she worked multiple jobs, seven days a week, for years and ended up paying him over $66,000. That is also why she is now sharing her story as a warning for others. 

“Make sure you check the people you work with are actual attorneys with a license, that they aren’t notaries public, so that all your hard-earned money does not go to waste,” Gutiérrez Aragón said. 

Looking out for her community, as many continue to face uncertainty.