Immigration Lawyers Protect Vulnerable Immigrants by Opposing AB60 in California Legislature

LOS ANGELES, CA- The Southern California chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) filed a formal opposition to AB60, the amendment to AB1159, a measure that would bar immigration lawyers from performing any background and preparation work for immigrants seeking advice on whether they qualify for President Obama’s executive actions of DAPA and DACA. This legislation, which has the intent of protecting immigrants, does the exact opposite. It is overly broad and ties immigration attorneys’ hands from being able to charge for even standard support services connected with reform measures including background checks, analyzing filings, requesting copies of files from the government after immigration consultants and notarios have not kept files or have so screwed up client cases that they have disappeared. We, as an organization, are worried about the negative impact this measure will have on the immigrant community, who are now pointed in the direction of scammers and unlicensed consultants who are not lawyers, have no bar to regulate their actions or inactions, and put many immigrants at risk of being deported and end up shattering families lives.