 CHICAGO IMMIGRANTS FACING DEPORTATION SUE TO HALT IT
Nineteen victims of immigration consultants in Chicago have sued the INS to halt their deportations, claiming that because they were the victims of fraud, they should not be deported. According to the suit, the Chicago INS office errs in not rejecting applications that are fraudulent, like other offices do. The plaintiffs say that they had relied on immigration consultants who told them they were eligible for immigration benefits and filed applications.
They received work authorization, but the office then denied the application and placed them in deportation proceedings. According to a spokesperson for the Chicago INS office, “it is the responsibility of the applicants to know whether or not they are eligible for benefits. It is not the policy of the INS to return the fee after it is accepted and processed.”
Lisa Palumbo, an attorney with the Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago, which, along with the Midwest Immigrant and Human Rights Center of Heartland Alliance, filed the suit, worries that the problem will grow because of Section 245(i). Because it is widely promoted as an amnesty, many people want to file under it without thoroughly examining whether they are eligible. There are also numerous unscrupulous “immigration consultants” who take advantage of people who want to legalize their status by taking money from people who they know are not eligible for benefits.
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