ICE brokers waited outdoors the immigration courtroom at 290 Broadway final week amid ongoing issues over deportation practices condemned by the Metropolis Council’s new immigration protections.
File photograph by Dean Moses
The Metropolis Council on June 30 handed three items of laws aimed toward defending immigrants within the face of federal insurance policies which have left many fearful and anxious.
Two of these measures — a decision and a invoice — had been launched by Brooklyn politicians Sandy Nurse and Shahana Hanif, respectively.
Nurse’s Res. 931 formally denounces the Trump administration’s deportation of immigrants with out due course of. Its passage comes on the heels of a Supreme Court docket resolution permitting the administration to deport immigrants to “third-party countries” not listed of their removing orders. The decision is a part of a number of Metropolis Council actions pushing again in opposition to violations of the town’s sanctuary legal guidelines.
The decision, the primary of its form nationwide, highlights the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was illegally deported on March 15 and despatched to El Salvador’s mega-prison CECOT with out due course of and regardless of a courtroom order barring his deportation.
Council Member Sandy Nurse’s Decision 931 formally denounces the Trump administration’s deportation of immigrants with out due course of.File photograph by Gabriele Holtermann
“Today, the City Council once again rejects a politics of fear, xenophobia, and the blatant violations of our sanctuary city laws by the Federal government,” Nurse sais. “No New Yorker should live in fear of an unlawful deportation, especially not to a foreign prison without due process as guaranteed by our Constitution. Today we reaffirmed that when we stand up for our immigrant communities, we fight for the rights of all New Yorkers.”
The Metropolis Council additionally handed Intro 205-A, sponsored by Hanif, which addresses immigration authorized companies fraud, often known as “notario fraud.”
Many immigrants are unsure about their authorized choices to keep away from detention and deportation. Unscrupulous crooks exploit that concern and nervousness by posing as immigration attorneys, also known as “notarios públicos” in Spanish-speaking communities. Determined victims not solely lose hundreds of {dollars} to those unlawful companies but in addition stay in limbo relating to their authorized standing or find yourself worsening their immigration circumstances.
Hanif’s laws requires the Division of Shopper and Employee Safety, the Mayor’s Workplace of Immigrant Affairs, and the Mayor’s Workplace of Ethnic and Group Media, amongst others, to teach the general public about fraud schemes and respected immigration authorized service suppliers via a broadly revealed multilingual outreach marketing campaign.
Hanif, co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, mentioned her laws, alongside Intro 980-A, launched by Council Member Julie Received (D-Queens), was the boldest municipal laws within the nation addressing a longstanding, severe concern.
Council Member Shahana Hanif’s invoice addresses immigration authorized companies fraud, often known as “notario fraud.”File photograph by Gabriele Holtermann
“The Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies have generated anxiety and confusion among immigrant communities,” Hanif mentioned. “Bad actors often exploit these vulnerabilities through fraudulent practices, charging high fees and sometimes even sabotaging ongoing immigration cases.”
Fellow politicians and group activists applauded the nation’s most expansive new laws defending immigrant New Yorkers.
Lorena Kourousias, govt director of Mixteca, a nonprofit group middle that gives free well being and education schemes to New York Metropolis’s Mexican immigrant group, mentioned the group has seen firsthand how authorized fraud has devastated immigrant households.
“In this political climate, where fear and uncertainty are high, the City Council’s commitment to combat immigration legal fraud is both urgent and necessary,” Kourousias mentioned. “This investment is a powerful step toward protecting our community and ensuring that immigrant New Yorkers have access to trustworthy, culturally and linguistically appropriate legal support. We are proud to continue working alongside our city leaders, Hanif and Won, to defend the rights and dignity of those we serve.”
