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Council advances stiffer penalties for fraudulent immigration-service providers in Intro 9‑80A
Summary
Council member Kevin Riley presented Intro 9‑80A to increase civil penalties on dishonest immigration assistance providers; sponsors say the change targets unlicensed operators who prey on recently arrived immigrants.
Council member Kevin Riley urged passage of Intro 9‑80A during the June 11 stated meeting, saying the bill would increase civil penalties for providers of immigration assistance who are unauthorized or who engage in fraud. Riley described the proposal as a response to constituent complaints and predatory behavior by unlicensed operators who “scammed out of thousands of dollars.”
Riley described the penalty increases in detail during his remarks: under the introduced language the first violation’s fine range would increase from $3,750–$5,000 to $7,500–$10,000, and successive violation ranges would increase from the existing $9,000–$10,000 to $38,000, according to Riley’s floor statement.
Riley said the bill also improves transparency for clients seeking immigration help and aims to deter providers who threaten to report clients to federal immigration enforcement as a method of coercion. He framed the bill as a protection for vulnerable immigrant communities and urged colleagues to support it.
The bill was reported out of committee and placed on the general orders calendar. The clerk later announced the general-orders items were adopted by a vote of 51–0 for most items; Intro 9‑80A was indicated in committee reports as “amended and coupled on general orders.”
