Feb. 14, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
Several scammers have been dressing up as Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a means to extort cash out of undocumented immigrants by claiming that they will be deported if they don’t pay up, according to reports received by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, whose office has received reports of such incidents in Woodside, is planning a rally against the scam at 5 p.m. tonight at 65th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, bringing in organizations to speak on the rights of undocumented immigrants, services available to them, and how to respond if targeted by an ICE officer.
Van Bramer heard several reports from constituents who were targeted by fake ICE agents, said his spokeswoman, and one specifically was told that if he did not give the agents money he would be taken in to custody.
Van Bramer has notified the NYPD, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, and the Attorney General of the scam.
The scam is particularly worrisome, Van Bramer’s office said, because it plays off of the fear of legitimate ICE raids that have taken place in the city over the last week, which saw 41 undocumented immigrants taken in to custody.
