The precautions should you take with Biden’s new immigration policy 

By: Miguel Hernandez

(Listen to the audio in Spanish and Mixteco)

Last Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced the introduction of a new immigration policy that will benefit more than half a million immigrants married to American citizens and who have been in this country for more than 10 years. This new policy from Joe Biden will bring more federal protections for immigrants since the introduction of DACA which was implemented in 2012. But although this news brings much-needed optimism to the immigrant community, MICOP’s legal assistance program, or better-known project as MILA, warns of people who can use this optimism to scam people.

The Immigration legal assistance program of the Mixteco Indigenous Community Organizing Project has offered legal services to the community completely free of charge since 2018. MILA Program Manager Liza Diniakos mentions that she has heard of cases in the community where people have paid to simply be on waiting lists to be helped.

“These types of acts are immoral and unethical.” 

Diniakos’s biggest concern is that people in the community can get scammed out of their money.  She also reminds that it is very important to know that the rules and regulations for Biden’s new policy have not yet been released.  Therefore, people should not pay people promising that they can get helped today.

The most important thing a person can do is go with a trusted immigration attorney or DOJ DOJ-accredited legal representative and stay away from places like notaries that have no training in immigration law.

Community members in Ventura County can contact Fernando Hernandez with their questions. In Santa Barbara County, Saul Martinez can answer the communities’ questions.