Lawsuit accuses prominent Seattle-area attorney of misrepresenting immigrants

Added: 2026-05-15

[00:00:00]Yeah, Madison, we've obtained hundreds of pages of Attorney General records showing multiple former clients with complaints against this immigration attorney who is supposed to be helping them. And today, we found more people have stepped forward to share their story since nine clients filed a lawsuit against her this week.

[00:00:18]It was a call neither sibling wanted to receive.

[00:00:21]>> Cuz I've always been a daddy's girl. So, it just felt like me as a little girl just getting my dad ripped away from me. Isi Picazo and Luis Manzo Rocha found out morning of November 4th, 2025 ICE arrested their father, Nelson Picazo Sanchez. We interviewed the siblings a few days after their father's arrest.

[00:00:41]Regular routine going to work.

[00:00:43]Um at 6:45, they're down by the landing, and he gets pulled over thinking it's a regular pullover, and then they get surrounded by SUV vans. Sanchez does not have a criminal history. He had a work permit, but they later discovered that permit was tied to an application saying their father had been a survivor of domestic abuse, and that's why he qualified for a work permit.

[00:01:06]Tequila-based attorney Alexandra Lozano applied for immigration protections for their dad under a federal program meant for some victims of domestic abuse. And to be clear, like your mom does not beat your dad. No.

[00:01:20]Like your dad has never been a victim of domestic abuse.

[00:01:23]>> No.

[00:01:26]Now, a newly filed federal lawsuit accuses the attorney who advertises extensively all over social media of systematically steering clients into abuse-based immigration claims that in the end backfire against her clients.

[00:01:41]>> This is a an example where religion and integrity have been conflated. Attorneys Art Bomstick and Omar Barazza are co-counsel on the suit against Lozano.

[00:01:53]>> [music] >> They say her marketing strategy uses imagery of the Virgin de Guadalupe, a significant Mexican cultural and religious figure. Many of the plaintiffs say that faith-based approach drew them in to hire her.

[00:02:08]>> As the Virgin Mary loving Guadalupe.

[00:02:10]Including Gabriel Martinez Garcia. He was one simple procedure away from receiving legal status. He says Lozano pushed him to file through the abuse program known as VAWA. She didn't explain me what was VAWA. She didn't explain me the document.

[00:02:29]I had to find my own way by Google it.

[00:02:31]While Gabriel is a survivor of domestic abuse from his former spouse, his case was later denied over electronic signature issues on the documents, leaving him in deportation proceedings.

[00:02:43]I had two kids.

[00:02:48]I was really scared when I was they told me I had a protection.

[00:02:52]>> [snorts] >> I was really scared.

[00:02:54]KING 5 also obtained complaint records filed with the Washington Attorney General's Office dating back years. In one 2021 complaint, a woman wrote that her husband was encouraged to apply for VAWA even though we never mentioned abuse or problems in our relationship.

[00:03:10]In another complaint filed in 2024, a man alleged Lozano told him to accuse his wife of abuse, quote, "So it would be easier to apply for VAWA." Alexandra Lozano denied any wrongdoing in a statement and said she stands by her work.

[00:03:25]>> They're playing with with my life. Back at the attorney's office, multiple plaintiffs showed up hearing KING 5 was going to be there.

[00:03:33]Many now having lost their only chance to stay in the United States legally.

[00:03:38]And there's more people I see online.

[00:03:40]That's why I want to tell my mom, "We got to go, Mom. We got to s- Ooh, we got to speak up so more people can come and speak against her cuz what she's doing is bad.

[00:03:55]The two attorneys on this civil case say nothing has been proven yet, and what they detail in the suit are allegations.

[00:04:02]But, for the people who have had their cases denied, and some deported, this is very real, and they have a very slim chance, if any, of ever coming back to the United States.

[00:04:11]>> And this is impacting so many people.

[00:04:12]And Sharon, so in this civil suit, what are they asking for?

[00:04:15]>> Yeah, so they're asking for monetary damages. Many of the plaintiffs say they've lost over $10,000 if not more per case, and they're hoping to get that money back so they can find another lawyer who might be able to fix their immigration cases.

[00:04:28]>> Cuz right now, those cases are still open for them.

[00:04:30]>> They are.

[00:04:31]>> And they need to find a resolution.

[00:04:32]Sharon, thank you so much.