Minn. immigrants, advocates get a head start on deportation applications

From a Spanish-language radio host, Jorge Reyes Olivares and his wife, Juana, heard they should scale back Christmas shopping to save for immigration fees. From friends, they heard they should beware of lawyer impersonators. From attorneys, they heard they should start getting their documents in order.

It will be May before the couple and others living in Minnesota without legal status will be able to apply for a work permit and deportation reprieve under President Obama's recent executive order. But immigration activists and others have already ramped up efforts to get the word out and urge immigrants to start getting ready. At the heart of the push is a goal to foil an expected surge in scam artists who prey on immigrants.

Last week at the Minneapolis Foundation, advocates, nonprofits, Minneapolis and St. Paul city officials and others — some 30 groups and agencies in all — gathered to brainstorm ways to help.

"We all agreed we need a strong communication plan," said Alondra Cano, a Minneapolis City Council member.

Meanwhile, some critics of the president's order have voiced concern the administration is not equipped to weed out bogus applications, a task they expect will be complicated by the common use of aliases and the flood of applicants.

More than 4 million immigrants nationally are expected to qualify for Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, or DAPA, a program that will temporarily shield from deportation the parents of U.S. citizen children who have lived in the country at least five years. Starting in February, Obama is also expanding a 2012 program for immigrants brought to the country as children. By a recent estimate, about 30,000 are eligible for these programs in Minnesota.

At a workshop the Olivareses attended on a recent Saturday, about 300 immigrants filled the Roosevelt High School auditorium in Minneapolis to hear from attorneys and others. They lined the aisles for almost an hour afterward to pepper volunteer attorneys with questions: What if you don't have many documents proving you have lived in the country continuously since 2010 — or if most of them list an alias? What if you left the country briefly to care for a sick relative back home?

The Olivares family left reassured that they qualify for the program. They entered the United States illegally in 2000 and have since had two children.

They've never had run-ins with the law. Jorge works for a cleaning company and has filed tax returns each year, so he expects it will be easy to prove they've lived here.

"We feel calmer now," said Juana in Spanish. "We don't have doubts anymore that we qualify."

Attorneys, legal aid nonprofits and advocates have fielded a flurry of inquiries since Obama announced Nov. 20 he would give some immigrants a chance to "get right with the law." The Minneapolis firm Davis and Goldfarb received more than 100 calls about the announcement in the two weeks after it, said attorney Michael Davis.

Advocates have sprung into action to satisfy a hunger for reliable information. The advocacy group Navigate put on the Roosevelt High forum, one of a series throughout the metro. The nonprofit Advocates for Human Rights and Pillsbury United Communities will offer workshops for immigrants who might feel up to filing their applications without an attorney.

Advocates are encouraging those eligible for DAPA to apply, despite anxiety over the temporary nature of the program.

Pillsbury's Francisco Segovia put it this way: "If I do this, what are the consequences? It's a combination of hope and fear." Others might hold off because of the expense or a lack of documents.

Immigrants will likely need birth certificates or passports that prove their identity, and the birth certificates of U.S.-born children.

They must also prove residence for the past five years through leases and mortgage records, bank statements, utility and medical bills, employment records — even Netflix receipts, speeding tickets or tagged social media posts. Many immigrants living in the country illegally have an extensive paper trail; others do not — or have to prove they are the person behind the assumed name on their records.

"We have to help people who live unpapered lives prove they have lived here continuously for five years," said Cynthia Campos, a Twin Cities attorney who expects sworn statements from acquaintances won't cut it.

Advocates are also urging immigrants to start saving for the $465 application fee and other expenses.

For years, Carlos Eduardo Gonzales has been putting away money from his restaurant job, in case just such an opportunity presented itself. Still, he balked when an attorney recently told him he would charge $150 for an initial consultation and as much as $9,000 to complete applications for both Gonzales and his wife. (Attorney costs vary widely based on the lawyer's experience and the immigrant's background, according to AILA, the American Immigration Lawyers Association.)

Now Gonzales is looking into the free or discounted services offered by nonprofits.

Those nonprofits say they likely won't come close to meeting demand. They worry that scam artists will move quickly to fill the gap. Mai Neng Moua, chair of the local AILA chapter, says members regularly try to sort out the cases of fraud victims who were promised a way to file an application early or improve their chances in exchange for hefty fees.

"If somebody tells you they are going to help you file your paperwork right now," said Michele McKenzie of Advocates for Human Rights, "they are lying to you."

"There are no serious consequences for fraud, and when people figure that out, they become bolder," Vaughan said.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency has said applicants will undergo thorough criminal background checks, and agency officers are trained to spot fraudulent documents.

Attorney Davis said he cautions potential clients not to buy and submit fake documents, which can sink their chances of staying in the country.

"This is a very generous program," Davis said, "and this generosity should not be stepped on."

Mila Koumpilova • 612-673-4781