{"id":788,"date":"2025-07-31T15:57:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T19:57:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/?p=788"},"modified":"2025-08-05T16:12:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T20:12:43","slug":"nyc-council-legislation-to-prevent-immigration-legal-services-fraud-automatically-enacted-as-law-after-mayors-inaction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/2025\/07\/31\/nyc-council-legislation-to-prevent-immigration-legal-services-fraud-automatically-enacted-as-law-after-mayors-inaction\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC Council Legislation to Prevent Immigration Legal Services Fraud Automatically Enacted as Law After Mayor\u2019s Inaction"},"content":{"rendered":"

NepYork<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 By\u00a0Kishor Panthi<\/a> | Published July 31, 2025<\/p>\n

New York City has taken a significant step to protect its immigrant communities from fraud with the automatic enactment of two City Council bills into law. Introduction\u00a0205-A<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Introduction\u00a0980-A<\/a><\/strong> became law on July 31, 2025, after the Mayor opted not to take action on them within 30 days of their passage.<\/p>\n

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Complementing these increased penalties, Introduction\u00a0205-A<\/strong><\/a>, now Local Law 98 of 2025, mandates the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to launch a comprehensive citywide outreach and education campaign. Led by Council Member Shahana Hanif, this initiative will inform New Yorkers about common fraudulent schemes employed by immigration legal service providers and offer guidance on how to avoid them.<\/p>\n

The campaign will utilize various media channels and make materials available at key locations such as shelters and IDNYC registration sites. The DCWP will also be required to submit annual reports on its outreach efforts, as well as on complaints and inspections related to immigration assistance services. This law is set to take effect in 180 days, allowing for the necessary preparations for a robust public awareness campaign.<\/p>\n

The campaign will utilize various media channels and make materials available at key locations such as shelters and IDNYC registration sites. The DCWP will also be required to submit annual reports on its outreach efforts, as well as on complaints and inspections related to immigration assistance services. This law is set to take effect in 180 days, allowing for the necessary preparations for a robust public awareness campaign.<\/p>\n

The impetus behind these laws stems from a recognition of heightened vulnerability within immigrant communities, exacerbated by what city officials describe as \u201canti-immigrant policies.\u201d This environment has unfortunately created fertile ground for \u201cbad actors\u201d to offer false promises, charge exorbitant fees, and potentially jeopardize legitimate immigration cases.<\/p>\n

Evidence of this pervasive issue is apparent in recent data: since January 2024, the Mayor\u2019s Office of Immigrant Affairs\u2019 (MOIA) Immigration Legal Support Hotline has referred 64 fraud cases to the New York State Office of New Americans Hotline<\/strong><\/a>, and between February and April 2025, the DCWP\u2019s enforcement team conducted over 750 proactive inspections, resulting in nearly 80 summonses.<\/p>\n

City officials have voiced strong support for these new measures. Speaker Adrienne Adams emphasized the critical need for the city to protect its diverse immigrant communities, especially in challenging times.<\/p>\n

Council Member Shahana Hanif highlighted that the laws directly address the vulnerability of New Yorkers to exploitation, empowering them to identify scams and access legitimate legal aid. Council Member Julie Won expressed her belief that Local Law 102 sends a powerful message that the city will safeguard its immigrant residents.<\/p>\n

[See full article here<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NepYork<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 By\u00a0Kishor Panthi<\/a> | Published July 31, 2025<\/p>\n

New York City has taken a significant step to protect its immigrant communities from fraud with the automatic enactment of two City Council bills into law. Introduction\u00a0205-A<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Introduction\u00a0980-A<\/a><\/strong> became law on July 31, 2025, after the Mayor opted not to take action on them within 30 days of their passage.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

READ MORE<\/a><\/small><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":322,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[13,21],"class_list":["post-788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-immigration","tag-leg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/788\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/shahana-hanif\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}