by Natasha B. | Jul 27, 2020 | Client Victories, Legal Services, More News, News, Tenant Advocacy
Catholic Migration Services filed two cases in Queens County Supreme Court on behalf of tenants who allege that their landlord charged them more than the legally permissible rent for many years. Along with pro bono counsel from Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett LLP, we recently obtained a favorable ruling from an appellate court that will permit our clients’ claims to proceed.
In 2015, Beatriz came to Catholic Migration Services seeking one-on-one consultation because she believed that her rent was too high. After learning about her housing concerns, the Catholic Migration Services Tenant Advocacy Program agreed to represent her and her son with the expertise of Senior Staff Attorney, Mariam Magar.
In the course of researching the records for the apartment maintained by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), Mariam discovered that a rent reduction order was issued by DHCR in 1987 (and effective May 1986) had remained in effect through September 2015. This meant that Beatriz and Angel should have been paying only $348.04 per month, an overcharge of almost $1,300 per month, until then.
In February 2016 Mariam filed overcharge cases for both Beatriz and Angel in Queens County Supreme Court, asserting that they were overcharged because (1) the rent in their 2006 vacancy lease, which was more than double the rent paid by the prior tenant, was excessive, and (2) the 1987 DHCR rent reduction order limited their rent to $348.04 per month through September 2015. After filing the cases, Mariam learned about a second rent reduction order that was still in effect.
Initially, the judges in each of the two cases dismissed them, finding that the tenants had filed them too late, but with the help of pro bono counsel from the law firm of Simpson, Thacher and Bartlett LLP, we appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, and in June 2020, the Court issued orders reversing the two Supreme Court decisions, holding that the tenants had not filed their cases too late.
As of July 2020, the two cases are now headed back to the Supreme Court, where the tenants may once again pursue their overcharge claims with continued representation from Catholic Migration Services and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Beatriz and her son Angel, this will enable mother and son to remain in their long-time home for years to come.
by Natasha B. | Mar 17, 2020 | CMS in the News, Immigration, More News, News
On Monday, March 16th, in response to the coronavirus outbreak, Legal Services NYC and six other organizations, including Catholic Migration Services sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting the option to reschedule merits hearings in New York immigration courts upon request in the absence of court closures as well as the option to appear via phone or video for those with easy to resolve cases. Today’s letter also asks for a moratorium on all immigration removal orders where the immigrant is unable to show up for health reasons or concerns. On Friday night, the Department of Justice announced the postponement of NYC “master calendar hearings” (or initial hearings) for those not in custody but did not address the merits hearings that follow. On Sunday, immigration prosecutors, judges and attorneys called for the closure of immigration courts across the country.
Read the letter and full story via Latino Rebels: In Absence of Immigration Court Closures, Letter Asks DOJ for Option to Postpone Merits Hearings and Halt Some Removal Orders in Wake of Coronavirus
by Natasha B. | Dec 18, 2019 | Citizenship, CMS in the News, More News, News
Catholic Migration Services recently partnered with New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, and Goldman Sachs to host a naturalization clinic where green card holders received free legal services to help them work toward U.S. citizenship. The free workshop was held at LaGuaradia Community College in Long Island City and during the workshop, 36 lawful permanent residents began their journey to U.S. citizenship. Our staff and volunteers were able to help save applicants thousands of dollars on application fees. “Volunteers helped to complete 9 fee waivers, totaling a savings of $6,525. This is an amazing feat, especially given the circumstances!” said Chloe Moore, Naturalization Coordinator with Catholic Migration Services. For highlights of the event, please see a list of media coverage below:
Media Coverage:
Read the full story in El Diario: ¿Por qué es importante aplicar lo antes posible por la ciudadanía?, December 8, 2019
Read the full story in El Diario: Acude a talleres gratis en Nueva York sobre cómo aplicar por “green card” y ciudadanía ante USCIS, December 5, 2019
by Natasha B. | Nov 18, 2019 | CMS in the News, Immigration, Legal Services, More News, News
Camilo and Jose Miranda at the Office of Catholic Migration Services. Photo: Immigrant Justice Corps
José Miranda, an Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC) second-year fellow was assigned to Catholic Migration Services during the Fall of 2018. Now a Staff Attorney for the Removal Defense Project with the Immigration Program, José was recently profiled by IJC and recalled his first client experience at Catholic Migration Services, a Nicaguaran family in need of immigration assistance assigned to the “FAMU” (family unit) docket.
Camilo and his family arrived at the U.S. southern border in August of 2018 seeking safety and protection after being targeted by the Frente Sandinista Liberación Nacional (FSLN) who wanted to use their home as a shelter for confrontations with the anti-Sandinista student protesters and as a place to store weapons. The family refused and death threats against their lives steadily increased. After a near kidnapping of their son, the family fled Nicaragua and journeyed to the US. border seeking asylum.
After a dangerous trip, they soon reached the U.S. where Camilo, his wife, and two children were detained in a privately-run detention center in Texas for six days and later released after passing their credible fear hearing. On their way to New York, they sought assistance from Catholic Migration Services where they met José. Through the representation of Catholic Migration Services, José advocated on behalf of Camilo and his family during an expedited case in immigration court which led to a successful outcome for our client.
Read the full write-up by Immigrant Justice Corps (IJC): “You can say happy but the word isn’t enough.”
by Natasha B. | Nov 18, 2019 | Immigration, Legal Services, More News, News, Workers' Rights
Plaintiff “Vincent” Cao at the Chinese Staff & Workers’ Association.
The Chinese Staff & Workers’ Association (“CSWA”), a partner organization in the CILEC consortium, contacted Catholic Migration Services in late 2018 with a request for legal assistance for a number of workers that they had been organizing who were owed significant sums of wages. The group had worked in a Chinatown dim sum restaurant and most were owed up to eight weeks of unpaid wages when the restaurant closed its doors in August 2018. Jin Ming “Vincent” Cao, an organizer with CSWA, is one of the many workers who was owed unpaid wages and decided to sue his former employers, Joy Luck Palace Restaurant, its owners and its general manager. Catholic Migration Services filed a federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of 19 of those workers, most of whom were Chinese immigrants, employed by Joy Luck Palace restaurant for about two and a half years. The group of workers, consisting of captains, servers, and bussers, pleaded violations of federal and state minimum wage and overtime laws, state spread-of-hours laws, state notice and paystub provisions, and state laws governing the purchase and maintenance of uniforms. The employers failed to participate in the litigation, and, after reviewing the workers’ sworn testimony and employment records, the judge overseeing the case ordered the employers to pay the full amount of damages that the workers sought in the litigation, totaling approximately $950,000.
Although a win for Vincent and his former coworkers, the 19 employees have yet to collect on their owed wages. According to a NY Daily News article, Vincent believes that recovery of the workers’ wages will be an uphill battle, stating that “the restaurant’s owners and operators had plenty of time to hide their assets as the lawsuit ground a conclusion.” Thomas Power, an attorney with Catholic Migration Services who represented the 19 workers in that federal case shared Vincent’s concerns that judgment collection will likely be difficult sharing that “it’s fair to suspect that [the defendants] have taken some steps to move their assets.” Power added that “there is a bill that was recently passed by the New York State legislature, which advocates refer to as the SWEAT Bill, that would give workers some extra tools to help their efforts in recovering unpaid wages.” As of the date of this posting, that new piece of legislation currently awaits Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature.
In fact, every year, workers in New York State are cheated out of an estimated $1 Billion that they earn but are not paid. Immigrant workers bear the brunt of this wage-theft, often toiling in low-wage industries where they don’t receive minimum wage or overtime, and sometimes receive no wages at all for days or weeks of work. To learn how you can help fight this epidemic, click here.
Read the full article in the NY Daily News: Workers in NYS are owed up to $1 billion in stolen wages: experts
by Natasha B. | Nov 18, 2019 | Legal Services, More News, News, Workers' Rights
Workers and Advocates Rally to Stop Wage Theft in the Capitol with Assembly sponsor Linda Rosenthal. Photo Credit: SWEAT NEW YORK
Every year, workers in New York State are cheated out of an estimated $1 Billion that they earn but are not paid. Immigrant workers bear the brunt of this wage-theft, often toiling in low-wage industries where they don’t receive minimum wage or overtime, and sometimes receive no wages at all for days or weeks of work. You can help fight this epidemic.
Earlier this year, the New York State Legislature passed the Securing Wages Earned Against Theft Act (the SWEAT Act). Catholic Migration Services played an integral role in securing thepassage of this bill, which provides critical tools to workers, the NY Department of Labor and the NYS Attorney General in their efforts to recover unpaid wages from their employers. Too often, employers evade accountability by hiding and transferring their assets once they are sued by employees or are under investigation by the government. Workers and the government obtain judgments for millions of dollars that they never collect. The result is that workers don’t get their hard earned wages, and their families suffer the impacts – inability to pay for the essentials of life, and increased reliance on public benefits. The SWEAT Act will make it harder for employers to evade accountability for wage-theft, and reduce wage-theft in New York State.
You can help the SWEAT Act become law. Although both houses of the NY State legislature passed the SWEAT Act in June, it must be signed by Governor Cuomo before it becomes law. Please urge Governor Cuomo to sign the SWEAT Act (Bill No. S2844B) by calling him at (518) 474-8390, or writing to him at: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of New York State, New York State Capitol Building, Albany, NY 12247.
For more information about the SWEAT Act, visit http://sweatnys.org/.
