Queens officials plug a new pro-bono project in Kew Gardens last week that will link human trafficking victims with legal assistance.
Photo courtesy Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence
Borough leaders lauded a new initiative this week that will help victims of human trafficking seek the help they need without the red tape.
The Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court teamed up with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s office and the Sanctuary for Families to launch the Pro-Bono Project with the goal of giving foreign-born victims free legal representation on immigration law matters through U- and T-Visas or asylum.
Under the new project, a total six pro-bono attorneys at the Queens Family Justice Center in Kew Gardens one day a week thanks to the program started in conjunction with the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence and advocacy groups, the center said. Each lawyer was tasked with helping undocumented victims qualify for asylum or a visa in order to keep him or her safe.
Commissioner of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence Rosemonde Pierre-Louis described the plan as a public-private partnership that will address the unique needs of each human trafficking survivor.
“This initiative strengthens the safety net for survivors of sex trafficking, giving them an opportunity at a new start on life,” Pierre-Louis said. “Under the tremendous leadership of Judge Toko Serita, the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Court has been a transformative and innovative model.”
Some of the borough’s biggest advocates for the cause took to Kew Gardens last Thursday to plug the plan and combat an ongoing crisis in Queens.
“I am very proud that Queens is taking the lead role in launching the Queens Human Trafficking Intervention Pro-Bono Project offering isolated and susceptible victims access to reliable immigration assistance through this comprehensive program,” Queens Borough President Melinda Katz said. “Access to reliable immigration assistance can play a pivotal role in escaping their traffickers and rebuilding their lives.”
Katz said the issue of human trafficking has long been a concern across the borough and was proud to see more steps being taken to assist victims.
State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) has been one of the borough’s biggest fighters of human sex trafficking since being elected into office and stood beside other Queens lawmakers Thursday in support of the new pro-bono project.
“There are some 27 million slaves in the world today, more than at any other time in human history,” he said. “Most are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation – the vast majority are female. And make no mistake, many of these women are being abused and exploited in public and private locations in our very own communities, right here in family-friendly Queens.”
The borough of Queens has already accounted for 67 cases out of 120 trafficking clients throughout the city’s four Family Justice Centers. With a 47 percent foreign-born population in Queens, the issue of trafficking has had a particularly unique impact, lawmakers argued.
“Queens County has been, over the years, in the forefront of efforts to protect trafficking victims and bring their traffickers to justice,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. “My office, for example, brought not only the first sex trafficking indictment in the state and obtained the first sex trafficking conviction but, in collaboration with the court system, pioneered the Human Trafficking Intervention Part in Queens County.”
By Phil Corso
