Rep Meng warns of immigrant frauds

In light of President Barack Obama's recent executive action on immigration, undocumented immigrants have to be careful of potential scams promising easier application processes, said New York Congresswoman Grace Meng.

Meng, who represents New York's Sixth District, said on Jan 16 that undocumented immigrants need to be aware of dishonest lawyers, immigration consultants and fake attorneys who charge large sums of money to prepare and submit applications. The application period for the president's program has not yet begun and fees and forms have not been made available to the public yet.

"We just want to warn people that they should not be paying hefty sums of money right now for a form that doesn't even exist yet," said Meng during a press conference at her office in Queens. That's what some people have been told, according to Meng, to pay so-called experts money and then they will be able to get them to the front of the line.

"We just want for everyone to be careful," said Meng, a Chinese-American congresswoman and the first Asian-American to be elected to Congress from New York.

On Nov 20, Obama ordered two executive actions on immigration. One program, the Deferred Action for Parental Accountability, will allow parents of US citizens and green card holders to apply for work permits if they entered the country before Jan 1, 2010.

The second is expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival, which allows any child brought to the US before hisor her 16th birthday and prior to Jan 1, 2010, to request consideration of deferred removal action for a period of time.

"The executive action taken by the president is good for our country," Meng said in a statement. "It was the only real progress we've been able to make on immigration in the past two years.

"Most undocumented immigrants are hardworking people who want nothing more than a chance to work, live and contribute to our nation," Meng said. "Not only do these scammers steal their savings and hard-earned money, they rob them of their chance to finally come out of the shadows, and have a shot at the American dream."

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com