Immigration question?! please help! Serious answers please!?

Question

My uncles friend is an immigrant and he did some labor/work for a guy, but the guy he did the work for refuses to pay him the 900$ he owes him for over a weeks work. So he filed a case against him in small claims court, but he doesnt know if he should continue with the process because he is scared of deportation. What should he do, I feel bad and i dont want him to get in trouble. He would rather loose the money than be deported. Are there any laws to protect him?! Or should he just back off and loose the money?

Answer 1

I feel sorry for the uncle,but he should have come over here the right way.Do you know what would happen if an American were to get caught going into another country illegal,they would be put in prison,an no one not even our government could get them out.This has nothing to do with him being an immigrant,it has to do with him coming here and expecting to be treated like every one else,and that's not the way it is.If you expect to come here to work,don't cross the border without papers,or you should be sent back.

Answer 2

Sounds like unless your Uncle's "friend" goes to court, he's SOL. He is here illegally anyway. Maybe this is karma. He IS breaking the law, after all, by being here ILLEGALLY isn't he??

Answer 3

Your uncle's friend is not an immigrant, he's an ILLEGAL immigrant. That being said, he should continue with the process and get his money. Small claims court is not generally interested in a person's residency status. But there are risks.

Answer 4

If he is an illegal immigrant I would leave it alone and take the loss. If he is a permanent resident (legal) he has the same rights as a citizen and can't be deported. Sorry that is all I know. I would check every website I could find to see if there is any thing he could apply for or what his rights may be. Perhaps someone willing to sponsor him. Many lawyers will give free consultations but I wouldn't recommend he goes himself, may be your dad on his behalf? Research research. Good Luck. Also, in future maybe he could negotiate payment up front or at least part of it especially if it is under the table. Fellow immigrant.

Answer 5

If he is illegal that will be more trouble than it's worth.  All the defendent needs to do is say that he is illegal and he surely will be deported.  On the other hand, business owners are not allowed to employ illegal immigrants either. That is against the law. So if the guy is a legit businessman, that could prove to be troublesome for him as well.  That could be some leverage for your friend's uncle and maybe the guy will pay if he takes that route.  If the guy is just handyman on the side and does not have a license, he may just have to walk away from the whole thing.  There are currently no laws in the US protecting illegal immigrants from situations like this.

Answer 6

Even if he obtains a judgment the court will not force the man to pay. He will just have the judgment on his record. Later you can locate assets like a car that's paid for and then go back to court for a replevin, but that usually takes an attorney.

Regardless of his status small claims is worthless. The employer will show up and tell the court the guy is illegal.

Living in the shadows does have its down side.

Answer 7

If he is illigal he should hurry up and become legal and get the effing out. if he is already legal he can sue for the money and maybe even more. HE HAS NO RIGHTS THAT WILL PROTECT HIM IN THE USA.

Answer 8

what is his status in the US?

Answer 9

It really depends on what state you live in, but contrary to what you've been told, all people have rights in the US, regardless of immigration status (it's our law).  However this does not mean that in court this subject will not be brought up and the judge may decide that it his legal right to ask and perhaps act upon the facts.  Good Luck!

Answer 10

Being an alien illegally in this country does not deprive him of the right to use the courts to seek justice.

The fact that he performed the work (even though he was not eligible to work in this country), means he should be paid for what he has done.

He can expect that his employer will try to defend against the small claims action stating that your friend was not eligible to work here and he should, therefore, not be allowed to collect his wages.  That is not the law and such a defense will fail.

Your friend is not an immigrant.  He is an alien illegally in this country.  An immigrant is someone who enters the country legally for the purposes of permanently living here.

He can petition to change his status and pay a hefty fine (the $900 owed him will help with that) and remain here while his petition is being processed.

Answer 11

if he goes to court he will get deported

Answer 12

I am so sorry to hear that?

I wouldn't know what to do. Have you seen the movie "Under the Same Moon, Bajo La Misma Luna"?

It's such a beautiful movie, it made me cry so hard... But it's about a lady who leaves her son with her mom in Mexico to work in California and it's been 4 years since she's seen her son.

Anyways, she's illegal and she worked for half a week cleaning in a womans house and the woman fires her and doesn't pay her so the mom is arguing with the woman so the woman says,

-what are you going to do? call th police? Oh, that's right, you're illegal, aren't you?

And the mom never claims the money or anything...

I felt so bad.

I hope everything goes well... I'll pray... I'm so sorry to hear that

Answer 13

Yeah you need to tell us the status of your uncle, or at leat say that he is legally here. If so then he needs not to fear anything.  

and even if he wasnt the court i dont think looks at your unlce for employment, but you should check that wit the local court. maybe they can help you.

Maybe just ask them :

I f there are any restriciton to filing a lawsuit againt someone depending on your legal stautus?

Answer 14

Depends on status and what he did. If what he did falls into certain catagories then he can not collect if he is illegal because of the way the laws are set up.