When legal help is not what it seems
- Voces Unidas de las Montañas
- May 8
- 9 min read
Updated: May 8
He thought he hired an attorney.
After Luis Armando Rivas was detained by ICE, he and his family made sacrifices to secure competent legal representation to fight his deportation in a very complex and biased immigration legal system.
After considering several quotes from law firms, they landed on a local option, Hector Gonzalez with Connect Immigration, who was charging about half of what other attorneys were charging at the time.
They signed a contract and started a monthly payment plan.
But after more than three months in detention, Luis was still deported. It was only after he was already in Mexico that Luis and his family say they learned that Gonzalez wasn’t actually an attorney.
Gonzalez is an “Accredited Representative” — a title that Luis and his family say was news to them.
When Luis reached out to Voces Unidas, six months after his deportation, he wanted help understanding what had happened to him. He was concerned about how he ended up in ICE custody in the first place, why he was deported, and what legal options remained.
As Luis and Voces Unidas uncovered more details, it appeared that an entire system of failures contributed to his situation.
Even now, nearly a year after his nightmare began, Luis and his family are still adjusting to the family’s separation. But as they come to terms with it, they have also realized that this is probably happening to other families.
Now they want their experience to be a lesson for other immigrant families.
The confusion stems from one of the many complexities of the U.S. immigration court system, where immigrants do not have the right to representation.
The warrantless arrest
It was June 2025 and Luis noticed he was being followed.
Luis says he was illegally arrested by sheriff’s deputies at a Walmart in Garfield County without a warrant. The deputies were assisting ICE in civil immigration enforcement, according to public records reviewed by Voces Unidas.
Luis was turned over to ICE and transferred to the Aurora detention center, where he was held for more than three months.
Luis says his ex-wife heard a radio interview where Hector Gonzalez spoke about immigration law in a way that led her to believe Gonzalez was an immigration attorney.
In one video clip reviewed by Voces Unidas, the caption presents the segment as legal advice. It says, “¿Puede arrestar ICE adentro de la corte? El abogado Héctor González contesta.”
The clip is presented like a social media legal Q&A. The host, Samuel Bernal, asks about ICE arrests in court. Gonzalez appears on screen from an office-like setting and speaks directly to the camera, dismissing the idea that ICE could detain someone when they appear in court.
Gonzalez is not presented as someone helping with immigration legal forms. He is presented as the person answering legal questions. The caption calls him “el abogado.” The format looks like public legal guidance for immigrants trying to understand the risks of going to court.
Luis also saw Gonzalez’s name on a bulletin board at the Aurora detention center where he said pro bono legal providers, including the Rocky Mountain Immigrant Advocacy Network, promote their services.
Everything looked legitimate, according to Luis.
The Connect Immigration advertisement reviewed by Voces Unidas looks like an ad for a private law firm. Gonzalez appears in a suit and tie. In one scene, he walks outside carrying a briefcase near large stone columns, the kind of image people associate with courts or law offices. In another scene, he sits across a desk from a man in what appears to be a client consultation.
The ad gives the impression of a professional and established legal office. It does not look like a small nonprofit mostly helping with low-cost immigration paperwork. It looks like a big-city law firm.
That mattered to Luis and his family. They were desperate for help. They were scared, moving fast, and looking for someone they believed could defend him.
“Everything I saw and heard made me believe he was an attorney,” Luis said via WhatsApp. “When Hector came to visit me for the first time in Aurora, he introduced himself as my lawyer. He was on the radio answering immigration questions. His name was posted inside the detention center. The videos and ads looked like a law firm.”
Between the radio segments, the social media clips, the detention center bulletin board, the polished website, and the advertisement showing Gonzalez in a suit with a briefcase, Luis says he believed he was hiring an immigration attorney.
So Luis’ family called Gonzalez’s organization, Connect Immigration, and signed a retainer agreement on June 23, 2025, for $8,000. The family paid a $1,500 deposit and agreed to monthly payments. Luis later says the family also paid an additional $1,100 in appeal-related fees.
Voces Unidas reviewed a copy of the contract.
It appeared to be for legal representation for a U visa, which is usually available to victims of certain crimes when they can help law enforcement prosecute a crime. But according to Luis’ complaint, Connect Immigration did not perform work on a U visa case. Instead, Gonzalez filed for asylum as Luis’ defense against removal in immigration court.
The agreement also used the phrase “Attorney/Representative” and listed the hourly rate as $475. Luis says that language also made his family believe Gonzalez was a licensed immigration attorney.
Even in written communication with the family, Connect Immigration used the word attorney. In an August 25, 2025 email, while Luis was still detained, a Connect Immigration legal assistant told Luis’ family that he had forwarded their letter to "el abogado Hector."
The immigration courts
Although they are referred to as court cases, immigration cases are not actually criminal cases. Being in the country without legal status is generally handled as a civil immigration matter.
A person facing deportation does not have the same right to a government-appointed attorney that a person facing criminal charges has. If an immigrant cannot afford an attorney, they are often expected to defend themselves or find help on their own.
National research shows that only 37% of immigrants overall, and only 14% of detained immigrants, secure legal representation in removal cases.
That means many people are fighting deportation alone, while the federal government is represented by trained attorneys. The American Immigration Council has found that immigrants with legal representation in immigration hearings are four times more likely to be released from detention.
But not everyone can afford competent legal representation. The costs can be in the thousands.
This is where “Accredited Representatives” come in.
After years of advocacy, the federal government recognized that legal representation was beyond the reach of far too many people. Accredited Representatives are non-attorneys who work through federally recognized nonprofit organizations and can provide immigration legal services within the scope of their accreditation.
The program was meant to help low-income immigrants access lower-cost help.
In practice, many nonprofit organizations with accredited staff focus on consultations, paperwork, form preparation, workshops, and limited representation. Fee schedules at many of these nonprofits list immigration services for a few hundred dollars, depending on the form or service, not including government filing fees.
And a few nonprofit providers offer low-cost, in-person representation in immigration hearings.
That is what makes Luis’ case an outlier.
The agreement his family signed with Connect Immigration was for $8,000 for a U visa, with a $1,500 deposit and monthly payments.
Voces Unidas contacted other nonprofit providers with accredited staff to compare fees. We could not find similar rates. But we did hear from at least one Colorado nonprofit that already knew of Gonzalez and also had clients who believed he was a licensed attorney.
As for Luis’ case, he was ordered removed by an immigration judge on August 19, 2025. He reserved his right to appeal, and Connect Immigration agreed to file an appeal. According to Luis’ complaint, the Board of Immigration Appeals received the appeal on September 11, 2025.
Luis was transferred from the Aurora detention center to Texas on September 23, and he was deported to Mexico the next day.
After reviewing Luis’ file, several licensed Colorado attorneys told Voces Unidas they would not have handled parts of the case the same way. One attorney pointed to the mismatch between the U visa agreement Luis’ family signed and the asylum case that was actually argued in immigration court. He also raised concerns about the lack of a written fee agreement for the removal defense work, because that creates questions about the scope of representation and fee transparency.
Luis maintains that he believed Gonzalez was a licensed immigration attorney.
Now he wonders if an actual licensed immigration attorney would have meant a different outcome in his case.
“I keep asking myself if things would have been different if I had known,” Luis told us from Mexico. “I believe my family and I were misled. If we had known he was not an attorney, we would have made a different decision. But it is too late for me now.”
The fallout
After Luis was deported, he and his family had one conference call with Gonzalez. They wanted to understand why the deportation had occurred if there had been an appeal pending.
Luis says Gonzalez did not give him an answer.
Then, for months, they heard nothing.
The family continued to be charged.
On February 11, 2026, Luis’ ex-wife received an email from Connect Immigration stating that the organization had concluded its work on Luis’ case in November 2025 and no longer represented him in any matter, including removal defense or appeals.
That email also included a notice from the Board of Immigration Appeals stating that Luis had to submit a brief by February 19, 2026.
Luis says he did not know about that deadline until after February 11.
In April, Luis formally filed three complaints against Gonzalez.
A consumer protection report was filed with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, alleging that Luis and his family were misled into purchasing services. The report details how the firm’s public branding, website videos, and media reports — including instances where Gonzalez was referred to as an “abogado” or attorney — contributed to the family’s belief that he was a licensed attorney.
The second complaint was filed with the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel, requesting an investigation into alleged unauthorized practice of law. The complaint asks whether Gonzalez misrepresented his professional status to clients or the public, including in radio and local news interviews where he answered legal questions or was referred to as an attorney.
Luis’ last complaint against Gonzalez is with the Executive Office for Immigration Review in the U.S. Department of Justice, the body responsible for overseeing Accredited Representatives. The complaint asks the federal government to investigate whether Gonzalez’s practices, including his fees, align with the ethical and professional standards of the accreditation program.
An independent attorney who reviewed Luis’ files identified at least one potential ethics violation. The retainer agreement mentioned a U visa, which appears inconsistent with the actual legal representation Gonzalez provided in Luis’ case. There does not appear to be a retainer agreement signed for the actual removal defense work performed by Gonzalez.
And according to recent news reports, Gonzalez has had at least one other complaint filed against him in the past. Local immigration attorney Jennifer Smith told The Sopris Sun and the Vail Daily that her complaint also had to do with “some radio, digital and print materials that indicated he was a licensed attorney.” The outlets also reported that their own earlier coverage had been corrected because Gonzalez had been misidentified as a lawyer.
Gonzalez has denied misrepresenting himself. He told The Sopris Sun that he is not a lawyer and has never told anyone otherwise. The same article reported that a Spanish-language radio host confirmed he had referred to Gonzalez as ‘abogado’ on air, while Gonzalez said he never used that word for himself and that the distinction had been explained to listeners many times.
Luis is not the only client of Voces Unidas who says they believed Gonzalez was a licensed immigration attorney.
This story comes as national trends of scams targeting immigrants are on the rise.
Voces Unidas has worked with other families who have been scammed by fake law firms. Family members whose loved ones were just detained by ICE sent their hard-earned money to bad actors who promised cheap and efficient legal representation. The law firm did not exist.
Luis’ case is different.
Gonzalez is an Accredited Representative. Connect Immigration is a registered nonprofit. But the lesson is similar. The perceived harm by at least one client is also similar.
People should know whether they are hiring a licensed immigration attorney or someone who is accredited. People should never be misled into buying a service they never intended to purchase. And people without the education, training, and license to practice law should not be giving legal advice in ways that confuse families about who they are and what they can do.
Those who target our community thrive where there is fear and a lack of information.
Sharing stories about people like Luis can help other families know what to look for.
Spanish radio stations have broad reach, and community members often consider them trusted sources of information, sometimes to a fault. It is important to note that the two local commercial Spanish radio stations in the Eagle-Vail or Roaring Fork valleys are not news organizations. They broadcast music, opinions, advertising, and paid programming, not journalism in the same way as a credible newspaper where reporters and editors follow a code of ethics.
Private companies can buy time on the air to promote their business or place an ad campaign to promote their services. When the subject is immigration law, radio stations need to act responsibly or they will contribute to the harm.
As for Luis, he wants his experience with the legal system and its actors to be a learning opportunity for all involved.
For families trying to help a loved one in ICE detention, the lesson from Luis’ experience is simple.
Know before you purchase a service. Get second opinions from multiple firms and nonprofit providers. Contact trustworthy organizations for guidance. Make sure you know if the person is a licensed attorney or not. Fact-check what you hear on the radio or see on social media.
Families should not have to choose between help they cannot afford and help they do not fully understand.
For more information about scams or to make a report, visit the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. You can call the Voces Unidas hotline at 970-340-8586 for assistance.
This story is part of a Voces Unidas series documenting how immigration enforcement, detention, deportation, and lack of legal representation are harming Latino and immigrant families in Colorado.
