MIAMI — Florida residents seeking legal counsel on their immigration cases — including undocumented immigrants the federal government wants to deport — will soon have more state-level protections against common scams that target them.

And they have Gov. Ron DeSantis to thank for it.

On Thursday, DeSantis signed a bill aimed at curbing so-called “notario fraud,” a common phenomenon in South Florida where notaries public charge hefty fees to give legal advice to immigrants they are not authorized to provide.

Immigrants often go to notaries public for help because in Latin America, notarios are often practicing attorneys. Some immigrants who work with them lose a lot of money or end up with paperwork mistakes that are difficult to fix.

In the worst cases, a mishandled case can lead to detention and deportation.

Now, notaries public without law licenses that offer services to immigrants will have to visibly state at their businesses and on their websites: “I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED TO PRACTICE LAW AND MAY NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE OR ACCEPT FEES FOR LEGAL ADVICE. I AM NOT ACCREDITED TO REPRESENT YOU IN IMMIGRATION MATTERS.”

The new law also states that notaries public may not use terms like “immigration assistant” and “immigration specialist” that convey they have “professional legal skills in immigration law” in their advertisements promoting their services. The legislation also creates a civil cause of action so immigrants who are scammed by notarios can sue for damages and attorney fees.

A recently released blueprint shows how Florida wants to use tens of thousands of law enforcement officials to support the Trump administration’s mass-deportation plans. Many of the people that the state plans to target are the same undocumented immigrants who will benefit from the recently-signed legislation against notario fraud.

“We’re not pretending this is a game-changer for immigrants in Florida. But it’s a step in the right direction,” said Thomas Kennedy, policy consultant at the Florida Immigrant Coalition. An alliance of immigration advocacy groups, led by the Florida Immigrant Coalition, worked with legislators in Tallahassee to secure the protections against notario-fraud.

Kennedy told the Herald that people are more desperate than ever to fix their immigration paperwork given the mass-deportation agenda at the state and federal level.

“Obviously that problem is getting worse because people are getting kicked off their TPS status, people are losing parole, people are getting their asylum claims denied,” he said. “They are more desperate to adjust their status and more vulnerable than ever to being preyed upon.”

Democratic Reps. Johanna Lopez and Marie Paul Woodson sponsored the bill in the House, while Sen. Tina Polsky brought it to the Senate. The law was framed as anti-fraud, consumer-protection legislation. The Senate unanimously voted for the bill. It passed in the House with only Rep. Kiyan Michael voting against it. The Jacksonville Republican has positioned herself as a staunch opponent of illegal immigration. She has publicly told the story about how her son was killed by a crash caused when a twice-deported man rammed into his car.

For years, faith and rights groups in Florida have pushed laws in Tallahassee to protect undocumented and vulnerable immigrants. Among them is the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has consistently supported efforts to create protections against notario fraud. Michael Sheedy, its executive director, said that the Legislature and DeSantis should receive “a lot of credit” for putting the safeguards against notaries public scams into law.

“Immigrants, people trying to work within the system will be better protected from fraud. This is a good thing for everybody,” said Sheedy.

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