‘Lawyer of miracles’ Alexandra Lozano brought down over allegations of fabricating abuse claims and scamming migrants

Two red hearts stood out on her fitted dress, one over her chest and another at the throat, similar to those in images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the entryway to her office in Seattle, Washington, there was a large painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe, next to which her clients lit votive candles to pray for their cases. These religious symbols were not chosen at random. Alexandra Lozano called herself “The lawyer of miracles,” an effective marketing strategy that drew hundreds of anxious undocumented immigrants living in the shadows to her law office. “I fix cases that are supposedly impossible to win,” Lozano promised in a Facebook video. A phrase that now rings hollow.

Lozano has stopped boasting about delivering “miracles”: she resigned her law license last Tuesday, a move to avoid disciplinary action by the Washington State Bar. She faces multiple allegations: that she allegedly misled clients by filing permanent-residence (green card) applications with false information, charged exorbitant fees, initiated immigration processes she knew were doomed to fail, had staff memorize scripts to make deceptive promises, and devised legal strategies relying solely on a computer program without her or other attorneys at her firm reviewing the files.

In addition, the Washington Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation into her, while nine of her former clients filed a lawsuit alleging her services were “illusory, negligent, and even fraudulent.” Some say that because of Lozano’s representation, they now face deportation proceedings.

The allegations indicate that many of the cases Lozano promoted were based on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), enacted in 1994 to allow victims of domestic violence married to U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents to obtain immigration benefits without depending on their abusers. However, Lozano is accused of submitting false or exaggerated information to support those petitions. “VAWA is a way to fix papers through your family,” she said in a video posted on Facebook in November 2023.

Lozano’s fall comes as the Trump administration tightens its rhetoric against immigration attorneys accused of filing fraudulent asylum claims. This Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it had directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to develop new anti-fraud policies and expand its legal capacity to impose sanctions on those practitioners.

“It is standard practice for immigration attorneys representing illegal aliens to assert that virtually every illegal alien is going to be persecuted or tortured in his or her home country,” said James Percival, a DHS general counsel, in a statement. “Now, thanks to this directive, ICE attorneys have greater authority to enforce the law and stop the abuse of our asylum system by illegal aliens and attorneys.”

Selling hope

Lozano’s popularity surged thanks to social media. Her Facebook page — now called Luz Legal — has more than 370,000 followers. Migrants from across the country turned to her to handle their immigration cases. Media interviews became frequent and, at the height of her fame, her commercials were even aired on television during halftime of Gold Cup soccer matches.

In her videos on digital platforms, she offered almost religious hope: “I am here, with God’s help, fixing my clients… Everything is possible… Alongside my ‘team of miracles’ we want to find a yes in your case.” In another clip an elderly man is shown praying to the painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe that welcomed visitors in Lozano’s office as he implores for success in his immigration process.

She was also seen embracing people who had supposedly already regularized their immigration status. Her website claims she helped “thousands” of people obtain a green card, but the actual number of successful and failed cases is unknown.

“I cannot put into words the joy I feel when my clients tell me: After 20 years, I can go see my mother again,” she said in one of the videos that still circulate on Facebook. “I cry, as if it were the first time, because it is so beautiful to be able to reunite families.”

But, according to the State Bar, behind that empathetic image there was a more lucrative objective: enriching herself at the expense of vulnerable people. Her fees ranged from $10,000 to $15,000.

The complaint states that case evaluations and initial consultations were performed by unlicensed staff who followed “scripted sales pitches” to attract clients with false promises of “100% protection” from immigration authorities.

Another alleged irregularity is that clients’ signatures were stamped onto immigration forms without their prior review of the documents. In at least one case, immigration authorities rejected a petition after detecting false information in the file.

The Washington State Bar told EL PAÍS in a statement that Lozano is no longer authorized to practice law in Washington or in federal courts, including representing clients in immigration cases. Lozano’s resignation is permanent and she is also barred from having any ties to the law firm she founded.

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