Why Are There So Many CRUMMY Immigration Attorneys?

I haven't written here in awhile and I hate to get back in the saddle via a RANT, but I am seriously upset: in the past two days, I have been approached by not one, not two, but THREE prospective clients sharing the same basic problem: their otherwise straightforward immigration case has been disemboweled and trashed by a licensed Florida attorney with absolutely no fundamental understanding of U.S. immigration law.

This is all part of a dark trinity which South Florida immigrants have long faced:

1. The tragic belief that countrymen will not rip you off (when, in fact, it is most often Colombians who rip off Colombians, Chinese who rip off Chinese…the nature of the con game…remember: "con man" is short for "confidence", and upon this they prey.)
2. The legal pandemonium that is Miami, where immigration is perceived as a profitable sideline by attorneys who have not a shred of knowledge about federal immigration laws and
3. A population of illegal or semi-legal immigrants too eager to believe in "shortcuts" and "inside connections" as a result of their own cultural backgrounds.

The saddest part is that in each of these three cases, a competent immigration attorney would have easily obtained the needed approval.  Instead, I am facing three tangled Penn Senator reels of absolute incompetence, chaotic birds' nests of convoluted support letters, improper petitions, and gaps in status.

If I was Immigration Judge Dread Florida Bar licenses would be shredding like confetti these days.  Grrr.

Tags: Current Affairs, The Politics of Immigration