PROPOSED ARIZONA LAW WOULD CRIMINALIZE ACTIVITIES OF “NOTARIOS”

A common sight in the Southwest are offices of “notarios.”  Notario is the Spanish translation of notary, and is used to refer to notary publics in the area who will assist in filling out immigration forms.  In Mexico, a notario is an attorney who specializes in handling financial affairs.  Many immigrant advocates argue that this coincidence in translation is used by people to take advantage of immigrants.  In response to these concerns, an Arizona state legislator has proposed a bill that would make it a felony for anyone other than an attorney, law student, or representative of an INS accredited organization to complete immigration forms. 

Area notarios admit that some people do take advantage of immigrants, but argue that there are already consumer protection laws and that this new proposal is unnecessary.  Many also believe the new bill was prompted by the desire of attorneys to force immigrants to use their services.  The sponsor of the bill denies this motivation, and says the bill would make prosecuting unethical notarios easier because it gives the state Attorney General the right to bring civil suits against notarios who have cheated their clients.