Warrant issued for arrest of Valley immigration advocate

People waited outside of the Larson Justice Center in Indio for Sara Salcido Monday, but she didn’t show.

Salcido owns Sara Salcido Immigration in Cathedral City. She was supposed to appear for a debtor examination after Rigoberto Salazar of Cathedral City sued her for $5,300.

“Immigration benefits were promised. The family was promised permission to travel to see a sick relative. They were also promised a permanent residency. They were not eligible for this,” said Salazar’s attorney Rosa Elena Sahagun. “Mr. Salazar already won his lawsuit. We’re just trying to collect what is his.”

We discovered court documents which reveal a judge issued an arrest warrant for Salcido when she missed a court date. She turned herself in to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Dept Thursday.

“Sara went to the Sheriff’s Office today. We got a call from the Sheriff’s office she was present,” said Sahagun.

Salcido was cited and released. She’s due back in court in September.

We went to her office in Cathedral City where several clients waited for appointments. She would not speak to us in person so we called her for comment. Salcido said she has nothing to hide and will meet with us next week to discuss everything.

Salcido posted on Facebook in Spanish and said she’s not in jail and for people not to allow themselves to be manipulated.

In the meantime, Sahagun said Sara Salcido has other court hearings pending for other alleged victims.

According to Sahagun, Salcido made three payments of $200, then paid $500 with a check that bounced. The balance is $4700 plus interest.

We’ll be sure to continue following this story and hear from Salcido next week.