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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Hildalyn Colon, Deputy Director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE)
2:05:07
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Hildalyn Colon, Deputy Director of NICE, testifies on the importance of proposed legislation to combat immigration services fraud, highlighting the need for consistent standards across all service providers and the importance of publicizing successful fraud cases to encourage reporting.
- Emphasizes the challenge of unlicensed nonprofit organizations providing legal services without proper accreditation or attorney guidance
- Discusses NICE's efforts to offer legal services under attorney supervision due to high demand
- Stresses the need for continuous efforts to combat immigration fraud, not just periodic initiatives
Hildalyn Colon
2:05:07
Good morning.
2:05:09
My name is Ildalin Colong and I'm the deputy director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment, NICE, located in Jackson Heights, Queens.
2:05:19
I want to bring another perspective that I think that we have talked on is the importance of this type of legislation.
2:05:26
But I think the example of the person or one of the members show that this is a gentleman that have a license that is behaved this way and treat this person this way.
2:05:36
So part of the legislation that we put in here and that I hope that you guys approve is putting everybody under the same bar.
2:05:44
Part of the biggest challenges that we see are not what I think some of what describe is that we are challenging with nonprofit organizations that represent themselves and provide legal services even that they're not DOJ accredited or they don't have a lawyer and a guidance, which I will tell you for nonprofit like us, it becomes a nightmare because what we what the members in the community are feeling is, but that community organization told me yes and you telling me no.
2:06:13
And I have a person here sitting next to me that go through the same process as we have a similar offering in NICE.
2:06:21
We have opened, and I will speak to both of us, that organizations like us have opened legal services provider under the guidance of an attorney because of the need Because we cannot offer everything.
2:06:34
And I think part of the issue is that the need for us to provide in different levels of immigration.
2:06:40
I think that is the part, one of the key things that we're seeing here.
2:06:44
The other issue that I wanna raise is the part that we need to have examples.
2:06:49
I I know Villa and I know DCWP, but the cases that they come forward have never come to the press, have not seen.
2:06:58
Part of the community, and this is from my years of experience of actually prosecuting immigration fraud in the DA's office, is that communities needs to see that when I come forward works.
2:07:10
And that is part of the problem that we have seen lately.
2:07:12
I will tell you from my experience, it cannot be the the color of the day.
2:07:18
This issue about immigration fraud has to be a continuous process, not only one time.