Friday, May 31, 2013

Advocates and Lawmakers Call for State Senate and Governor to Toughen Laws to Protect Immigrants



Assemblyman Marcos Crespo, Senator Ruben Diaz and immigrant advocates concerned that with federal immigration reform on the horizon immigrants will be victims of mass fraud without immediate State action

   Immigrant advocates and policymakers today called for tougher measures to discourage rampant immigrant assistance service fraud.  Federal immigration reform proposals are moving quickly in Washington DC and both the US Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to pass the legislation in June and August respectively.  “Passage of immigration reform will open flood gates of immigrants seeking assistance with federal requirements and fraudulent immigration services providers are already lining up to strike thousands of victims,” stated Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, Chair of the Assembly Task Force on New Americans. In the spring of 2011 a sweep by federal and New York City law enforcement agencies found over 220 immigration service providers operating outside the limits of the law and issued over $288,000 in fines.  Surveys on this type of fraud in other major US cities have found that over 40% of immigration assistance services operations are fraudulent.

According to Crespo, “Immigration assistance services fraud is a serious problem facing the more than two million New Yorkers who are non-citizens, including some 800,000 who are considered undocumented immigrants.  Many immigrants looking for assistance with federal immigration matters have been defrauded and have lost their lifes savings trying to navigate our immigration system.” 

Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. stated, “I am proud to be the Senate Sponsor of this important bill and I thank my co-sponsors Senators Parker and Sampson for having the courage to put their names on this legislation. The Federal Government has taken long-awaited steps to improve the lives of millions of undocumented immigrants.  The time has come for New York State to do everything in its power to protect these immigrants who live all throughout our great State, from the eastern shores of Long Island to Niagara Falls and everyplace in between.  Now that the Assembly has passed this bill unanimously for the second time, I am calling on the Senate leadership to bring this bill to the Senate floor for a vote before the legislative session ends.”

“With federal immigration reform on the horizon and a rush of huge number of immigrants seeking to qualify for the new Registered Provisional Immigrant (RPI) status, it is anticipated that mass scale immigration services fraud will be committed. Tougher measures at the State level to discourage and punish immigration services fraud are needed and should be in place prior to the enactment of federal immigration reform,” declared Crespo.

The legislation (A.158/S.786) which passed the Assembly on May 29, 2013 via a unanimous vote increases fines, requires qualifying criteria to be able to be an immigration assistance service provider and requires such providers to be registered with the New York State Department of State and requires that they prominently display their State certification.


"Comprehensive Immigration Reform is a very real possibility, and immigrant New Yorkers will be seeking assistance to determine their best options," said Wayne Ho, Executive Director of the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families.  "Immigrant New Yorkers deserve reliable, credible immigration assistance services.  Service providers should not take advantage of immigrants who will be making important decisions that impact the well-being of not only themselves but also their children and families.  Immigration services fraud should not be tolerated, especially in New York."

“Immigrants living in New York City who could applying to legalize their immigration status need more than ever a law that guarantees a qualified assistance to fulfill  a complex immigration application process. Therefore LULAC Queens Council 23047 supports the bill proposed made by Assemblyman Crespo concerning: "Immigrant Assistance Service Enforcement Act." The bill propose increases fines imposed upon those who violate laws regarding immigrant assistance services; requires certain immigrant assistance service providers to be registered with the Department of State.  I invites our Latino community to support it to prevent deceptive actions of people and organizations who are not following the  laws, rules and procedures, causing serious consequences for the applicants,” stated Sylvia Mata, President of the Queens Chapter for League of United Latin American Citizens.

"The NYIC commends Assemblyman Crespo and the New York Legislature for addressing the need for consumer protections against the unauthorized practice of immigration law and the provision of incompetent or unscrupulous legal services.  It enhances penalties for fraudulent services; establishes a registration system for immigration legal providers and requires that they meet clear criteria for registration and renewal of registration; and imposes penalties for providers who fail to register,” stated Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coaliton.  “Two key elements remain to be addressed: a robust public education campaign funded by the state to increase consumer awareness so that immigrant communities know how to protect themselves against unscrupulous providers; and a clear mechanism for reporting incidents of unscrupulous and incompetent practices to ensure both enforcement and restitution, as appropriate.  We look forward to working with Assemblyman Crespo and the New York Legislature to make this bill as effective as possible.”

According to Alfred Placeres, Esq., Legal Director for Casa Puebla, "This bill will help to expose those unscrupulous immigrant service providers who continue to  plague our community. Protecting our New Americans from getting ripped off as they travel down the path to citizenship is something we can all support.

“Last year, my organization published a report that relied on community led research where we documented that Immigration Service Providers are routinely violating the law and engaging substandard, predatory and fraudulent practices.” says Valeria Treves, Executive Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, “In clear contravention of the law, none the ISPs visited by the our ‘mystery shoppers’ had a required “not an attorney” sign posted, up to a quarter of them advertised that they provide legal advice; and a quarter of them falsely identified themselves as an immigration attorney office. Furthermore, 23% of mystery shoppers received legal advice on the spot and one in three ISPs visited by the mystery shoppers guaranteed success in their applications for immigration benefits, which also forbidden by law. The consequences of an immigration services scam can range from the loss of money (sometimes thousands of dollars), to immigration consequences (including deportation) to social and emotional trauma.”

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