By Anna Gustafson
Following a wave of complaints about unscrupulous businesses preying on immigrants, Borough President Helen Marshall said last week she is adding to her Web site a list of legitimate service providers for the new residents.
Too many immigrants in Queens had been scammed by organizations posing as immigrant lawyers or immigrant-serving businesses that falsely promised to get naturalization papers for their clients in exchange for hundreds or thousands of dollars, Marshall said last week.
Her office has receivedmany complaints about this type of fraud, the borough president said.
“Queens is America’s most diverse county and has the city’s largest immigrant population,” Marshall said. “Thus, many immigrants fall prey to immigration fraud that often leaves them penniless and still without the legal status they sought. I urge everyone to scrutinize organizations that claim to provide immigrant services and make use of the information and services that are available, often free of charge or available at a nominal fee.”
Among the legitimate organizations Marshall has listed on the Web site, queensbp.org, are Elmhurst-based Make The Road New York, Immigration Advocacy Services in Astoria, Queens Jewish Community Council in Forest Hills, and Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside, among others. To access the list, click on the Immigrant Affairs link on the Web site’s left-hand side.
Marshall’s move to provide this list comes on the heels of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s sweeping investigation of immigration fraud in the New York City area. Cuomo issued more than 50 subpoenas to individuals and businesses, including numerous immigrant-assistance organizations, at the end of May.
One target of the investigation is the Iglesia Pentecostal Roca de Salvacion Eterna in Corona. Prior to being subpoenaed, the church was already the subject of legal action. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown filed charges against the religious institution’s two pastors, saying they had bilked more than 100 immigrants out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by promising them visas and green cards the individuals never received.
“Immigrant communities across New York City continue to be put in jeopardy by unscrupulous individuals and organizations offering them nothing more than empty promises and false hopes,” Cuomo said.
Two weeks prior to issuing the subpoenas, Cuomo filed a lawsuit against a Jackson Heights businesswoman charged with defrauding about a dozen immigrants out of tens of thousands of dollars. Miriam Hernandez, 55, ran an informal operation out of her home and had promised to help the individuals with their immigration status, Cuomo said.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 174.
