Nicaraguan asylum-seeker defrauded by fake attorney, arrested at ICE check-in, deported
Aug 11, 2026·Location: New Orleans, LA
Country of origin: Nicaragua

Jasmir Urbina, a 35-year-old Nicaraguan asylum-seeker living legally in New Orleans with her husband, was defrauded by a scammer posing as attorney "Susan Millan" affiliated with Catholic Charities USA. Through WhatsApp messages and fake documents, the scammer convinced Urbina she had won residency in a virtual hearing and instructed her to skip her real immigration court check-in scheduled for November 24, 2025. Urbina and her husband paid nearly $10,000 through Zelle for the fraudulent services—money they had saved to purchase their first home. After reporting the fraud to authorities, ICE changed her scheduled December virtual check-in to an in-person meeting. When Urbina appeared for the in-person appointment, ICE agents arrested her, shackled her hands and feet, and deported her to Nicaragua in January 2026. She is now living with her mother in a remote village in Nicaragua, separated from her husband who remains in the U.S. Her case was documented in a ProPublica investigation revealing that immigration scam complaints have doubled since Trump's election, with victims reporting at least $94.4 million stolen over five years.
Timeline
Sources
- Estafas migratorias crecen durante las redadas de Trump; ávidos defraudadores atraen a personas desesperadas
ProPublica·May 1, 2026·archived copy
- Shoot first, explain later: ICE’s year of violent force
lasvegassun.com·Jul 18, 2026·archived copy
- Complaints of Immigration Scams Doubled Amid Trump’s Sweeps — ProPublica – See Pengpai
- Immigration scams surge as Trump’s sweeps lure desperate people to eager defrauders – Uromi Voice
- $94 million stolen dreams: desperate migrants targeted in booming wave of high-tech immigration scams • Fact In Face • Your right to know. Our job to expose.
factinface.com·Apr 29, 2026·archived copy
- minnesotareformer.com
- Complaints of Immigration Scams Doubled Amid Trump’s Sweeps — ProPublica
pagegoo.com·Apr 29, 2026·archived copy
- Fear and Opportunity: Immigration Scams Surged as Trump’s Sweeps Lured Desperate People to Eager Defrauders – ██FR█████ █INTELL███████████
- Fear and Opportunity: Immigration Scams Surged as the President’s Sweeps Lured Desperate People to Eager Defrauders – El Semanario
- Fear and opportunity: Immigration scams surged as Trump’s sweeps lured desperate people to eager defrauders
- Deportación de nicaragüense revela estafas migratorias digitales en Estados Unidos
infobae.com·Aug 11, 2026·archived copy
- Una nicaragüense deportada destapa investigación en EE. UU. contra red de estafadores que usaba IA
100noticias.tv·Aug 10, 2026·archived copy
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