International Immigrants Foundation
1435 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10018 (Between 40^th & 41^st St)
(212) 302-2222

Public Hearing Dec. 7, 2000
Council Hearing Room
250 Broadway, 16^th Fl.,
New York, N.Y.

Statement on
STRATEGIES FOR CURBING
ANTI-IMMIGRANT FRAUD
AND REGULATING THE PRACTICE
OF IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTS
Presented to
Councilman Lloyd Henry
Chairman of the
NY City Council Sub-Committee on Immigration
by
EDWARD JUAREZ-PAGLIOCCO
(Founder & President)
 
 
First of all, I wish like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to Councilman Lloyd Henry, Chairman of the NYC Council Sub-Committee on Immigration, and Mr. Hugh Hamilton, for holding this very important session. I am also deeply grateful for having been invited to present testimony at this hearing.
The International Immigrants Foundation (The Foundation) was founded in 1973 as a charitable, non-political, non-profit and tax-exempt 501 (C) (3) public organization, affiliated as an NGO with the United Nations' ECOSOC, with the mission of guiding, leading, and empowering immigrants.
As an organization that has been providing orientation and direct immigration, naturalization, and resettlement counseling for nearly 30 years to immigrants from every culture, race, religion, and social status, the Foundation is very well acquainted with the vast range of problems faced by immigrants.
Throughout these years the International Immigrants Foundation has come to value immigrants for the endless flow of talents, initiative, ideals, and creative abilities with which they enrich American society.
We strongly believe that, today’s immigrants, just like the brave and fearless pilgrims of the past, come to America to build better and more fulfilling lives as they seek the freedom, compassion, and tolerance that are the foundation of our great and glorious Nation.
As our long association with immigrants has taught us, the road that leads to this attainment is far from easy. At the expense of great personal sacrifice immigrants, sadly but courageously, leave behind their families, friends, and natural surroundings to struggle with the daunting challenges of an uncertain and risky future in a foreign land.
Unfortunately, the majority of our immigrants lack the indispensable direction, know-how and education they so desperately need in order to develop their full potential as responsible and productive members of our society.
Since 1973, in fact, the International Immigrants Foundation has striven to alleviate these problems by consistently providing a congenial and supportive environment to help immigrants achieve their goals and realize their fullest potential in vital areas of their life.
The Foundation has also worked hard to provide immigrants with the necessary preparation and know-how that enable them to become legally permanent residents and actively involved citizens in the democratic process.
The strategy adopted by the Foundation to successfully achieve this role is one that:
Guides immigrants by providing the educational tools and resources that enlighten their path toward the realization of both their dreams and those of their family and friends;
Leads immigrants by pointing the way and opening the right doors to the knowledge and expertise they seek while protecting their genuine interests; and
Empowers immigrants by providing factual, legal, and professional advice that specifically addresses their individual needs and particular situation in a fashion that sustains the efforts, hopes, and dreams that brought them to America.
Our experience with serving immigrants has also taught us that one of the most difficult and demoralizing obstacles encountered by immigrants in trying to achieve their goals in the United States is the threat of fraudulent immigration consultants who, motivated by mere financial greed, take advantage of aliens unfamiliar with the overwhelming complexities of United States immigration laws.
Needless to say, immigrants are hardly ever in a position to discriminate between legitimate and fraudulent consultants. Very often immigrants’ efforts in trying to settle down and make ends meet deny them the necessary time and energy they need to shop around for reliable and legitimate immigration counselors.
In this regard, the only way to insure that aliens are given a fair chance in accessing legitimate and trustworthy consultants is to have the proper enforceable legal mechanisms that can effectively combat fraudulent practices.
We, at the International Immigrants Foundation, sincerely welcome and applaud the initiatives taken by the NYC Council Subcommittee on Immigration toward realizing this goal.
We also endorse and support the proposed bill by Senator Charles E. Schumer, titled "The Immigration Protection Act of 2000", (S3074) aimed at establishing criminal and civil penalties against the fraudulent exploitation of our cherished immigrants by abusive immigration consultants.
In particular, we strongly commend the Schumer Bill for its mandate to establish special task forces to enforce the proposed legislation, and for its provisions requiring INS to establish outreach programs that educate immigrants about their rights and obligations.
We feel that these latter provisions are extremely important. As the old Chinese proverb goes, "it is better to teach a hungry man how to fish than to give him a fish". Education is key when it comes to preventing and curbing abuse, especially in the case of immigrants who are new to this culture and are still working their way through the baffling maze of complex laws, services and information resources.
That is why the International Immigrants Foundation has always given priority to its goal of helping immigrants adjust in their new land through social services, education, and cultural activities that impart and nurture a genuine sense of belonging to the society they live in.
Beginning in early September, for example, the Foundation has initiated a daily, intensive mass education campaign dealing with immigration issues, one minute every hour, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, on the new CNN Radio Noticias. This program addresses the ways an immigrant may obtain legal permanent residence and eventually become a voting US citizen. The International Immigrants Foundation is developing similar nationwide projects that would involve not only radio but also TV and the printed media.
The psychological harm inflicted by con artists who, unashamedly and unscrupulously exploit any alien who falls prey to their empty promises, cheating naive immigrants of hundreds of thousands of dollars, can be very damaging to the process of acculturation. More significantly, it can deal a severe blow to their hopes of becoming an integral part of our society.
Almost exactly two years ago, the International Immigrants Foundation had the honor to present to this Subcommittee its "Amnesty 2000 Initiative" proposal for the legalization of undocumented immigrants who entered the U.S. prior to September 30, 1996.
At that time we had highlighted a series of problems posed by the unfair provisions of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA).
Specifically, we indicated to the Council’s Subcommittee that, as a result of the oppressive and persecutory nature of the new Law, a clandestine sub-culture has been created of more than 5 million so-called "undocumented" human beings. This demeaning situation, in turn, had given rise to an underground workforce environment that is adversely affecting the social, economic, cultural, and political structures of every area of our life.
We also indicated that, as a result of the undocumented population’s need to survive and to hang on to all that they cherish and have worked so hard to achieve through personal sacrifice over the years, the new Act promotes rather than discourages the number of illegal aliens.
Even more frustratingly, the new law requires that, in order to legalize their status, undocumented immigrants must leave the US for a period ranging from 3 to 10 years. This provision is the major cause for the cruel separation of spouses and children from their beloved families and from their established environment.
By highlighting these and several other major problems posed by the INS Act of 1996 the International Immigrants Foundation had shown most persuasively that, although the IIRIRA imposes hardships on legal immigrants and illegal immigrants alike, it is the undocumented that are most adversely affected and discriminated against by the recent reforms.
The point we are trying to make here is that, in the absence of any legal remedies to alleviate the cruel provisions of the 1996 Act, the adverse consequences outlined above are bound to present fraudulent immigration consultants with highly increased opportunities to perpetrate their exploitation of aliens.
This consideration should make us realize that, despite the undeniable merits of the proposed Schumer Bill, an equally powerful and effective way to severely curtail the abuse by unlawful consultants is to intensify our concerted efforts toward the introduction and enactment of legislation that would amend the current laws. Such legislation would not only eliminate the fear of prosecution from deportation and reporting mandated by the new law, but, more significantly, considerably help reduce those potent incentives that continue to fuel corruption and abuse by fraudulent consultants.
Finally, I would like to thank you again, Mr. Chairman, for kindly inviting us to participate in this public hearing and for giving us the opportunity to make our recommendations in favor of the proposals outlined in Senator Schumer’s Bill.
I conclude by reiterating that the International Immigrants Foundation wholeheartedly supports and endorses the "Immigration Protection Act of 2000" and pledges its continued commitment to any cause that defends and preserves the rights of our cherished immigrant community in a manner that sustains America’s role as a Nation of immigrants.