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Public Advocate Jumaane Williams addresses immigration fraud and criticizes Mayor Adams' policies
0:14:33
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Public Advocate Jumaane Williams delivers remarks on the current state of immigration in New York City, criticizing Mayor Adams' policies and addressing the issue of immigration services fraud. He expresses concern over the mayor's alignment with ICE and the resulting environment of fear and disinformation that allows scammers to take advantage of vulnerable immigrants.
- Williams accuses Mayor Adams of engaging in a quid pro quo arrangement and aligning with Trump's MAGA agenda
- He highlights examples of immigration fraud, including impersonation of federal agents and solicitation of bribes
- Williams calls for education about these scams, prosecution of offenders, and support for legal service providers
Jumaane Williams
0:14:33
Thank you so much, madam chair.
0:14:35
My name is Jermaine Williams, a mentioned public advocate of the City Of New York.
0:14:39
Thank you chairs, Menon, and Avila's for holding today's hearing and allow me opportunity to provide a brief statement.
0:14:45
These are pretty dire times for many New York communities including our immigrant communities.
0:14:51
The mayor has officially begun saluting Kristi Noem and ICE in public.
0:14:55
While we must continue to condemn the mayor for his inability to put the safety of New Yorkers over himself, We must be laser focused on what this means for our communities.
0:15:04
It has now been confirmed that the mayor engaged in quid pro quo, a fact that was confirmed by the judge in his dismissal, a fact that the mayor continues to lie by through omission, and his new platform puts all of us in danger and none more than our newest New Yorkers and immigrants who are afraid.
0:15:22
I now believe that the mayor believed it wasn't a quid pro quo because he believes in Donald Trump and his MAGA agenda and believes if he was gonna do it anyway, it's not a quid pro quo.
0:15:32
It is and we're all suffering from it.
0:15:35
History is not gonna be kind to the Trump administration's MAGA policies.
0:15:39
His he won't be kind to the disgrace of mayor Adams and his Adams administration.
0:15:45
The byproduct of many of his decisions is an environment that allows fear and disinformation to spread like wildfire throughout our city.
0:15:52
An environment such as this opens gap in us opens a gap in our society where scams, fraudsters, and bad faith actors can take advantage of the most vulnerable New Yorkers.
0:16:02
These actors must be stopped, penalized, and held accountable for violations of law and decency.
0:16:06
One such actor impersonated a number of federal law enforcement agents and demanded huge sums of money in exchange for expedited visa applications.
0:16:14
Another culprit piles as an attorney and solicited bribes from individuals seeking legal pathways towards citizenship.
0:16:21
Make no mistake, increase in these kinds of scams and scammers, which have always been here, are a result of the president and the mayor's dual efforts to criminalize and obscure the legal immigration process.
0:16:35
It is crucial that elected officials and advocates make every effort to educate our constituents on these scams and prosecute those who think they can profit from exploiting on already broken system.
0:16:46
Every New Yorker deserves the opportunity to be a part of our great city.
0:16:49
I'll continue to stand by my colleagues and the advocates on the ground in order to protect the rights and opportunities that we are entitled to.
0:16:56
We will not back down in the face of this corruption, exploitation, and disinformation.
0:17:00
I wanna thank the legal services and many of the service providers who continue to do the best they can in some very tough situations.
0:17:09
I am worried that the mayor doesn't really care about what's happening and the harm that's being caused and I don't think New Yorkers can look to him for leadership, but I'm asking those who are in agencies, are in charge of agencies, who are working in agencies, who know what the right thing is to do, to do the best they can with what they have, where they are in tough situations.
0:17:30
Thank you.