They pose as the cost-effective and more intimate alternative to pricey attorneys for undocumented immigrants looking to establish U.S. residency. Usually Spanish-speaking, they’re familiar with the immigration process — and how to take advantage of those seeking help.

Cecilia Gomez walked into the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Las Vegas on March 27 for what she thought would be a routine interview. She was just a hair’s breadth away from gaining legal permanent residency, bringing the undocumented Mexican immigrant and mother of three sons a step closer to becoming a U.S. citizen.

Myriam Parada, a woman living without documentation in the U.S., showed Minnesota police her Mexican ID when she got in a car accident. They handed her to ICE, and now she’s suing.

Many immigrants brought to the country as children are finding no relief from Congress, but court decisions are helping some maintain deportation protection.

The U.S Supreme court Monday declined to take up a Trump administration request to immediately review two lower court rulings, which are preventing the White House from shutting down the “deferred action for childhood arrivals” or “DACA” program next Monday.

A Chinese-exclusion case from the 1880s set a precedent that haunts the legal fight over Trump’s travel ban.

Congress and the White House spent much of this week trying to fix the problem President Donald Trump created in September when he abruptly canceled Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, an Obama-era program that provides renewable two-year deportation protections and work permits to undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. as youths.

A federal judge in California last week ruled that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program – or DACA – must continue despite President Donald Trump’s vow to stop the program unless Congress can agree to legislation by March 5.