Due to the increasing problem of notary fraud in Arizona, legislators just passed a law allowing county attorneys to take action against notaries exploiting immigrants. Notary publics are not authorized to give counsel to immigrants regarding their immigration papers, yet some benefit from the language barrier or lack of knowledge of the immigrants seeking advice. The bad notaries public are taking money from the immigrants and often hurting their cases; in extreme cases, deportation has resulted.

Some public notaries, however, cite total satisfaction from their immigrant customers as a reason that this new bill should not be passed. Arizona has a history of doing little to protect immigrants from scams, so the new bill aims to help shed the state’s unhelpful reputation while preventing cases of notary fraud.