Miami ? Scores of undocumented immigrants, particularly Haitians and Mexicans from Florida and other states, have been rushing to the northern U.S. border convinced that Canada will grant them asylum.

They have arrived clutching forms that many say a Naples, Fla., group sold to them for up to $400 each with the understanding the documents would entitle them to stay in Canada. They do not.

Stepped-up immigration enforcement and the collapse of comprehensive immigration reform legislation in the U.S. Senate this summer have prompted more and more undocumented immigrants to seek alternatives. Immigrant rights activists like Cheryl Little, of the Miami-based Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, say desperate immigrants are increasingly falling for possible scams.

“Immigrants in Florida are facing an increasingly hostile environment, and that unfortunately plays into the hands of unscrupulous people who lure clients with promises of legal residency,” said Little, who began looking into the Naples case after an immigrant rights activist in Vermont called her last month.

Little is now preparing a letter to Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, asking for an investigation.

Jacques Sinjuste, director of the Naples-based Jerusalem Haitian Community Center, acknowledges the center sold the forms and that its Web site had advertised them at $400 for adults, $100 for children.

But Sinjuste said his organization solely fills out forms for people who come to his office and may be eligible for possible refugee status in Canada – and that any implication that the forms provide entry into Canada is “all a misunderstanding.”

“We are not telling people that if they pay us money we will guarantee they get refugee status,” Sinjuste said. “We are simply filling out the form and telling them about the conditions they must meet to qualify.”

Sinjuste said his nonprofit organization asks people who want the form completed to donate at least $300 to cover the cost of processing, but those who are too poor do not have to donate. Children are not charged.

He acknowledged, however, that at least one former employee had described donations as fees and had posted on the group’s Web site prices of $400 for adults and $100 for children. Sinjuste said he fired the employee last month and the amounts were removed from the Web site.

Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman for McCollum, said her office had not yet begun an investigation.

“This was just brought to our attention, and we’d be happy to review any consumer complaints,” Copes said.

Haitians and Mexicans may be vulnerable to possible scams involving Canada because that country’s immigration policies offer some wiggle room.

Under an agreement signed with the United States in 2004, Canada allows nationals from countries who meet certain conditions to apply for refugee status. Nationals from Haiti and Mexico arriving to Canada from the United States may apply. Immigrants from countries in Central and South America may not.

Haitians denied refugee status likely would be allowed to stay because Canada has suspended deportations to Haiti because of political conditions there. Mexicans would be deported if denied refuge because there is no such moratorium.

The bar is still high for refugee status in Canada, even for Haitians and Mexicans.

“There is no special program for Mexicans and Haitians or any other nationalities specifically to immigrate to Canada, and no one is automatically accepted for refugee status until a determination is made by an independent refugee board,” said Mike Fraser, spokesman for the Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa.

“To be a refugee, claimants must demonstrate that they have reasons to fear persecution or risk of torture or punishment in their home country.”