Protecting Immigrants From Legal Exploitation Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill creates new federal crimes for people who trick immigrants into paying for fake legal help. Scammers could face up to 10 years in prison for general fraud or 15 years for lying about being a licensed lawyer. Convicted scammers would also have to pay back any money they took from their victims.
• Immigrants who were tricked by fake lawyers would be allowed to fix their paperwork without being punished. Usually, a bad application can lead to deportation or a permanent ban from the country. This law would let victims withdraw the bad forms and submit new ones even if they have already missed certain deadlines.
• The government would start a new outreach program to teach immigrant communities how to spot scams. This includes making information available in many languages, like Spanish, so people know who is actually allowed to help them with their legal cases.
• The bill sets up a grant program to give money to nonprofit groups that provide real legal help. This would help immigrants get low-cost or free assistance from qualified experts instead of relying on uncertified consultants who might take advantage of them.

Impact Analysis

Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.