"America should be the land of opportunity for immigrants, not dishonest immigration consultants," said Schumer. "But on any given day, the INS offices at Federal Plaza are filled with highly sophisticated con men who make a fortune off immigrants by making promises they cannot deliver. This legislation will crack down on these scam artists and give immigrants a way to fight back."

Legal and undocumented aliens frequently pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to fraudulent immigration consultants who promise to obtain favorable treatment from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) by filing forms or using special connections to the agency. These consultants - who often falsely claim to be lawyers - either do nothing or file meritless applications that result in deportation. While some cities, including New York, coordinate efforts to prosecute fraudulent consultants on their own, the penalties under state law are minimal.

Schumer's legislation would make fraud against aliens punishable under federal law. Specifically, consultants who take an immigrant's money and do not perform promised services, falsely claim to be a lawyer, or make other misrepresentations would be subject to up to five years in prison. Currently, consultants are only subject to federal prosecution when they actually submit phony documents to the INS.

"Immigration consultants can get away with these scams because our federal laws look the other
way unless actual fraudulent documents are involved," said Schumer. "But for many of these scams, the only paper trail is that left by the movement of money from the immigrant's wallet to the consultant's bank account."

Schumer's legislation will also allow defrauded immigrants to sue consultants for compensatory and punitive damages and provide the Attorney General and State Attorneys General with the ability to bring civil lawsuits. The bill will also grant immigrants with valid claims confidentiality so they can report abuse without fearing deportation.

"These consultants currently have carte blanche to prey on immigrants because the immigrants fear that the costs of coming forward are greater than the benefits," said Schumer. "The IPA will send a clear message that we're going after the criminals, not the victims."

The IPA will also bolster efforts to locate and prosecute fraudulent immigration consultants by creating joint federal-state task forces in eight cities nationwide - including New York - and establishing a toll-free INS hotline where immigrants can report abuse. The bill also funds INS outreach efforts to ensure immigrants know their rights, and requires consultants to inform aliens up front that they are not lawyers and have no special connections to the INS.

"New York and cities across the country profit year after year in countless ways from the work, energy and diversity of new immigrants," said Schumer. "If we put some teeth in the law, many of these con artists are going to think twice."