Artificial intelligence bots posing as immigration lawyers are increasingly prevalent on social media, where their goal is to trick immigrants and their families into paying out thousands of dollars.
Nearly a year after the American Bar Association issued a warning to immigrants in the United States to be on guard against individuals using AI profiles and chatbots to solicit money for immigration services, the number of known incidents appears to have grown, based on anecdotal accounts.
On Aug. 26, 2025, the ABA issued a formal notice that it had seen a “sharp increase in the number of individuals fraudulently posing as immigration attorneys, often falsely stating they work for reputable legal services organizations, including the ABA, or that they have special relationships with government officials.”
The family of a woman detained at the Adelanto detention center in California told the Fox News affiliate in Los Angeles that they found what they thought was a solid immigration lawyer on Facebook who turned out to be an AI-generated avatar that stole thousands of dollars from them.
The family, who spoke anonymously through former congressional candidate Marena Lin, said they were told by someone they thought was a real immigration attorney that if they paid a $4,355 bond, their loved one would be released from the ICE detention center.
It was not until later that they discovered the paperwork they had submitted to the AI bot posing as a lawyer was never filed with the court.
Angel Leal is a well-known immigration lawyer in South Florida who has been targeted by AI through fake videos purporting to show him discussing immigration legal matters and telling those who need representation to call him for help on WhatsApp.
Leal told NBC-6 in Miami that he was aware of the imposter scam and had seen bogus videos of him across social media channels. To date, more than 6,000 scams involving Leal have been found online.
“This vulnerable population is being hurt in this fashion, in my name, and that’s what most distressing to me and really what’s got me at my wits’ end,” Leal said.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association’s Charity Anastasio told WLRN the scams were increasingly prevalent in immigrant circles.
“ I’ve seen it run the gamut,” Anastasio said. “ They can just impersonate you with technologies that anybody can buy very cheaply, and they can prop up a fake website or a fake set of ads on Facebook or WhatsApp.”
The ABA said the damage caused by these AI scams is not just financial, but can ruin a person’s chances of being approved for processes such as a visa or asylum.
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“Their actions cause irreparable damage to immigration cases, drain immigrants’ limited financial resources and leave victims vulnerable to detention or removal,” said Adonia Simpson, ABA deputy director for policy. “Victims of immigration services fraud face real and irreversible consequences.”
Given that these scams are occurring online, states have passed laws to prosecute anyone caught practicing immigration law illegally. However, those penalties are limited to misdemeanor charges and small fines.