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NYC Council eyes bills targeting fraud by immigration service providers
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Apr 14, 2025
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Arya Sundaram / Gothamist
By
Arya Sundaram
Published Apr 14, 2025
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Members of the New York City Council are poised to consider two measures on Tuesday that take aim at fraud in the immigration services industry by arming consumers with more information and giving prosecutors more tools to target fraudsters.
“Knowing how scary the time is, it really does make people much more vulnerable to exploitation,” said Councilmember Alexa Avilés, who chairs the Council's Immigration Committee and is convening the joint oversight hearing with the Consumer and Worker Protection Committee.
The discussion comes as a statewide hotline as well as state and local officials have received a surge in immigration services fraud-related complaints. By one measure, complaints to the statewide Office of New Americans immigration hotline more than doubled last year, from 21 in 2023 to 58 in 2028, based on a partial count.
Officials said the complaints' topics included excessive charges, misleading ads, and undelivered and incomplete work. The rise is partly tied to the sheer number of newcomers — more than 220,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since 2022.
But there also is reported widespread unease among New York City's more than 670,000 undocumented residents over the Trump administration’s push to boost deportations across the country. That effort has prompted documented and undocumented immigrants to seek guidance on their rights and protections.
One of the bills up for discussion, sponsored by Councilmember Shahana Hanif, requires the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection to boost awareness of immigration services fraud.
The agency would be required to distribute educational materials in public places and in television, radio, print and subway advertisements. The agency would also be required to report annually on its outreach and education efforts.
Another bill, sponsored by Councilmember Julie Won, would increase the civil penalties for immigration service providers that break local rules, from a minimum of $500 to $7,500.
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new york city
Race And Justice Unit
Politics
Asylum Seekers
Arya Sundaram
Arya is a reporter covering race and justice. Got a tip? Email: [email protected] or reach Arya on Signal at 512-650-8767.
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