Cleveland Immigration Attorney Rishi Oza Quoted by the Associated Press

RELEASED: November 3, 2011

SALT LAKE CITY —

Rishi Oza, an immigration attorney at Brown Immigration Law, was recently quoted in an Associated Press article about a man who falsely claimed he was an illegal immigrant to avoid jail.

A 27-year-old Utah man and American citizen told authorities that he was an illegal immigrant to avoid going to jail for possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute. He was deported to Mexico, where he used his passport to return to the United States. He claims he lied to authorities in order to stay out of prison and remain with his daughters.

However, the plan backfired. Alvarado was arrested by police after his return to the U.S. He now faces felony charges for possession with intent to distribute and for lying to a judge about his identity.

"I have never seen something like this happen," Rishi Oza said about the case, "More often than not, the situation works the other way — a person claims to be legal to avoid detection. I have never seen an American citizen try to get deported."

According to Mr. Oza, pretending you are an illegal immigrant can easily make a bad situation worse. You may even end up serving time in prison before being deported.