With Immigrant Services Fraud Rampant In New York, Advocates and Lawmakers to Call for Tougher Laws
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 State action
May 29, 2013
WHO:
Assemblyman Marcos A. Crespo, Chair, Assembly Task Force on New Americans
Senator Ruben Diaz
Luis Lopez, Ecuadorian Vice Counsel to NY Consulate
Wayne Ho for Coalition for Asian American Children & Families
Alfredo Placeres for NYS Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
Angela Fernandez for Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Valeria Treves for New Immigrant Community Empowerment
Edwardo Penaloza for New Barrio
Sylvia Mata for League of United Latin American Citizens/LULAC
Senator Ruben Diaz
Luis Lopez, Ecuadorian Vice Counsel to NY Consulate
Wayne Ho for Coalition for Asian American Children & Families
Alfredo Placeres for NYS Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce
Angela Fernandez for Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights
Valeria Treves for New Immigrant Community Empowerment
Edwardo Penaloza for New Barrio
Sylvia Mata for League of United Latin American Citizens/LULAC
WHAT:
Immigrant advocates and policymakers will call 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. Recently 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.
WHEN:
Friday, May 31, 2013 at 2:00 PM
WHERE:
Steps of City Hall, New York City, Manhattan
WHY:
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 lives savings trying to navigate our immigration system. 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.