An immigration activist once honored by the Obama administration as a “Champion of Change” has been given probation for her part in deliberately misleading immigration authorities for the benefit of a foreign national.
Immigration lawyer Bonnie Monique Youn, once described as embodying “the spirit of Cesar Chavez’s legacy”, was given two years’ probation, forced to close her law office and fined $5245 after having pled guilty to charges relating to her attempt to falsify an adjustment of status application that was sent to US Citizenship and Immigration Services on behalf of a Korean national. Youn is also not allowed to practice law for at least two years.
US Attorney John Horn says that Youn knew the immigration rules as a lawyer but advised the Korean foreign national to file a fraudulent application claiming to be an employee of an agency controlled by her – a Louisiana based hair products salon at which the client had never in fact worked. Horn added that she has now been given the appropriate punishment for her attempted deception.
Even upon her indictment two years ago, Youn was still being featured as a “Champion of Change” in regards to immigration reform by the White House, which praised her for her tireless work to give a voice to Pacific Islander and Asian American communities in particular and immigrants in general. The page of the White House site that featured her is no longer available online.