[New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Council Members Daniel Dromm, Carlos Menchaca, and Rafael Espinal joined New York Immigration Coalition and community advocates in a press conference, ahead of a joint hearing by the New York City Council Committees on Consumer Affairs and Immigration, to discuss the urgent need for Intro. 746. The bill is aimed to prevent non-attorneys from providing fraudulent and/or unauthorized immigration legal services in New York City and creates new, stronger tools for the Department of Consumer Affairs to enforce the rules.
Passing Intro. 746 would empower the Department of Consumer Affairs to be more effective on enforcement, outreach, and education and is a significant step that New York City can take to ensure that our communities will be able to fight back against those that seek them harm. With tremendous fears in reaction to the outcome of last week’s presidential elections, it is more important than ever that New York City lead the way in protecting our immigrant communities. As the risk of deportations grows exponentially, ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers have access to reputable, trustworthy legal services and legal defense is critical.
New York City elected officials supportive of the legislation joined advocates ahead of the committee hearing to express their support.
“In these uncertain times, there are people who will try to take advantage of vulnerable immigrants who seek legal services in order to make profit,” said Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “This bill would help protect the immigrant community from becoming victims of fraud and safeguard them from the consequences of the unauthorized practice of law. The Council is proud to be at the forefront in the fight to make our immigrant New Yorkers feel safe and included in our city.”
Daniel Dromm, NYC Council Member (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) said, “I am proud to sponsor this bill, which will strengthen protections against immigration services fraud and the unauthorized practice of law. Sadly, immigrant New Yorkers often fall victim to unscrupulous and unqualified ‘immigration assistance service providers’ who fail to provide any meaningful services. Fraudulent service providers jeopardize their clients’ immigration cases and financial well-being by demanding thousands of dollars to fill out the most basic paperwork. I thank the New York Immigration Coalition and my colleagues for working with me to safeguard immigrant families and their economic futures. So many lives will be positively impacted by this legislation.”
Phot credit: New York Immigration Coalition
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