Public Service Announcement: Beware the promises of Notarios – Immigration Reform Hasn’t Happened Yet.
AILA has released the Public Service Announcement (.pdf link above) entitled “Beware the promises of Notarios! Immigration Reform Hasn’t Happened Yet.”
The U.S. Immigration Law Blog by Ashwin Sharma 
I am aware that the proposed immigration bill attempts to address the issue of illegal notario assistance by criminalizing it. However, I’m unsure as to how this will actually play out once several million undocumented people begin looking for help in their communities after CIR takes effect. I imagine it will be even harder to regulate at that point because more people will try to get into the notario business in an attempt to “cash in.” Also, the lines between notario and document preparation assistant are often blurred to the point where it is difficult to discern prohibited activity. Furthermore, most notarios don’t have a sign up on a busy street advertising their presence. In many cases, they are trusted residents of any given community who may work from home, or moonlight as immigration consultants. Finally, most immigrants are apprehensive about going to the authorities about these sort of issues because what they are basically concerned with is getting some sort of assistance for a reasonable price and often seek such assistance through word of mouth referrals from friends and families without thinking twice about it.