The number of scammers trying to capitalize on immigrants' fears by impersonating attorneys and ICE agents has surged since Trump's reelection, ProPublica found. Now, DHS says it is seeking to identify and locate these fraudsters.
By Naisha Roy, Medill Investigative Lab, and J. David McSwane, ProPublica July 16, 2026, 6:00 a.m.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating a sophisticated network of scammers targeting people in immigration proceedings, extorting their savings and causing some to be deported, after a ProPublica report showed that complaints about this type of fraud doubled during President Donald Trump's second administration.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a subagency known for tracking international crimes such as human trafficking, requested information about specific cases reported in the article, including the story of a woman who, fearing Trump's nationwide immigration raids, turned to someone she believed would help her maintain her legal status. After the scammers took her money and caused her to miss a court hearing, she was deported to Nicaragua.
This was one of thousands of cases in which scammers lured victims through social media posts and led them through fake court hearings and other official-looking steps, charging large sums along the way. Now, according to sources involved in the investigation, the federal government is intensifying efforts to track the scams.
In a statement, DHS said it was “declaring an ‘all-out war’” against the scammers.
“Immigration scammers contribute to a lawless environment, undermine our immigration system, and pose risks to national security and public safety,” the statement said.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, DHS is seeking URLs, WhatsApp numbers, and identifying information from the Zelle payment app that could lead to the scammers. The department's investigation is intensifying as these scams surge.
ProPublica analyzed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) data and found that victims and advocates reported the theft of at least US$ 94.4 million over five years. The more than 6,200 complaints included everything from fake Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents demanding personal information and threatening deportation to fraudsters asking international students for money by exploiting their visa status.
Scammers often impersonate attorneys offering ways to avoid in-person hearings, exploiting anxiety even among legal residents after ICE agents began conducting raids and detaining people during immigration proceedings.
Experts say scammers typically advertise on platforms such as Facebook and TikTok before moving the conversation to WhatsApp, asking for money in exchange for official-looking immigration filings. Sometimes known as “notario fraud,” these scams are often based on a mistranslation of the word “notary” (notário), which in many Latin American countries implies legal credentials.
In recent weeks, agencies such as the New York Department of State, the Florida Bar, and local police departments have issued warnings about these scams. The American Bar Association, which has also been warning about impostors, has recently been in contact with DHS investigators.
In South Florida, immigration attorney Angel Leal came across hundreds of AI-generated videos using his likeness to offer assistance on WhatsApp. His firm had to hire an anti-piracy company to remove the content and more than 6,000 fake profiles, according to local media reports.
The videos, hundreds of them on Instagram, are strikingly realistic. “Leal” appears seated in an office chair, with facial hair and expressions matching those of the real attorney. The AI-generated figure speaks fluent Spanish, with emphatic hand gestures, a plant or mug in the foreground, and a law degree in the background. Subtle details expose the fraud: some lip movements do not match the words, nonsensical text appears in documents, and objects merge together.
Advocates and authorities say those targeted should document all advertisements, message conversations, and payment information. And DHS warns consumers to be wary of attorneys who advertise directly on social media, operate through WhatsApp, and accept payments via Zelle.
In April, ProPublica spoke with several victims who attended fake court hearings via WhatsApp, recounting their stories to “agents” wearing fake government uniforms. Experts say Spanish speakers are the primary targets, and scammers often pretend to be affiliated with prominent advocacy groups such as Catholic Charities USA, which has been inundated with reports of fraudsters using its brand to find potential victims.
“Contacting people directly through an advertisement or via WhatsApp and asking for money through Zelle is not something Catholic Charities agencies would ever do,” said Kevin Brennan, vice president of media relations at Catholic Charities USA.
Such groups have found it difficult to remove impostor advertisements and accounts. Even when they succeed, it is cheap and easy for scammers to create new websites and profiles.
“It's Whac-a-Mole,” said Charity Anastasio of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, another organization whose staff and likeness have been impersonated.
Source: Propublica
Content produced by the Linhares Law editorial team.
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