HOUSTON - A former employee of Houston immigration attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra is raising concerns about his handling of client cases as he faces pending felony charges in Texas and Florida.

Balderas-Ibarra represents Víctor Hugo Salgado Araujo and Daniel Tirado Pantoja, the two men who were inside the van with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo when an ICE agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston.

Paralegal Tinamari Hernandez told KPRC 2 she initially admired Balderas-Ibarra's social media presence and believed they shared a commitment to helping immigrant communities.

 I was excited because I thought he and I had the same passion for our immigrant community,  Hernandez said.  I aligned with a lot of his beliefs or what he was putting out there. 

Hernandez, who said she has worked in immigration for nearly 20 years, said some clients appeared unfamiliar with information contained in their immigration petitions when she helped prepare them for interviews and hearings.

 When I started seeing the confusion and reading the petitions back to them, their reaction was a huge red flag to me,  Hernandez said.

According to Hernandez, some clients responded by saying they had not provided certain information or did not know a specific petition had been filed.

Hernandez claimed Balderas-Ibarra relied heavily on his employees to prepare cases and would avoid clients who were upset, had difficult cases or wanted answers he could not provide.

 He would avoid them if he knew they were upset or difficult, and he would ask his staff to handle them,  Hernandez said.

KPRC 2 called and emailed Balderas-Ibarra about the workers' claims but did not hear back. His cell phone number went to an automated voice message which stated the user was not accepting any calls.

Hernandez said she became particularly concerned after learning Balderas-Ibarra was representing the two men who were with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during the deadly ICE encounter.

 I really thought,  Oh Lord, help him,' because he doesn't have the knowledge to help them,  Hernandez said.

If Balderas-Ibarra is convicted on felony char

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