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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Deborah Lee, Attorney in Charge of the Immigration Law Unit at The Legal Aid Society, on Immigration Services Fraud
2:30:10
ยท
120 sec
Deborah Lee from The Legal Aid Society testifies about the increasing vulnerability of non-citizens to immigration services fraud due to the current federal administration's hostile policies. She emphasizes the need for increased city investment in immigration legal services and community education efforts to combat fraud.
- Lee highlights over 243 policy actions by the current administration that have created a climate of fear for non-citizens.
- She mentions specific examples of government actions, such as expelling non-citizens without due process and using the IRS to target immigrants.
- The testimony emphasizes how unscrupulous attorneys and non-attorneys exploit this fear to defraud desperate non-citizens seeking legal help.
Deborah Lee
2:30:10
My name is Deborah Lee, and I'm the attorney in charge of the Immigration Law Unit, the Legal Aid Society.
2:30:15
Thank you for this opportunity and the opportunity to testify.
2:30:19
I'm testifying today alongside Christian.
2:30:22
We are not including his name to protect his identity.
2:30:25
Non citizens across this country and in New York City are living under siege under this current federal administration with a constant prospect of detention and deportation.
2:30:35
Our federal government can now expel non citizens and perhaps also US citizens to a country where they have no lawful status to a prison therefore an indefinite sentence and can do this without regard for court orders and to provide these people due process.
2:30:50
Our government is also encouraging the dismissal of asylum claims because initially filed applications, including those by unrepresented individuals, are not deemed sufficiently legally detailed.
2:31:04
And our government is using the Internal Revenue Service to hunt down immigrants and to cancel lawfully obtained Social Security numbers to force noncitizens to live in fear and go underground.
2:31:16
For these reasons, as well as over two forty three policy actions by this administration, non citizens are at high risk of being a victim of immigration services fraud.
2:31:28
Unscrupulous attorneys and non attorneys can and will use this climate of fear to further exploit non citizens who are desperate for any help to navigate our increasingly hostile immigration legal system.
2:31:40
With the dearth of immigration legal service providers, non citizens often find themselves paying for immigration legal help that they cannot afford.
2:31:49
At Legal Aid, we have heard repeated accounts of clients like Christian who have been defrauded in order to take their money.
2:31:56
We need the city to invest more in immigration legal services for non citizen New Yorkers, as well as provide robust community education efforts to investigate fraud related crimes.
2:32:09
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today.