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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