Cada año cientos de inmigrantes sin documentos en la Gran Manzana son víctimas de un rosario de delitos y crímenes. Su condición de vulnerabilidad, por no contar con un estatus migratorio definido, en muchas ocasiones los convierte en presa fácil de atacantes y avivatos, quienes se aprovechan para robarlos, atacarlos y cometer actos fraudulentos en su contra.

Labor Day brought news of a sexual assault, this one in the early evening hours within the confines of Midtown South, which covers the Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen neighborhoods. Two days later, the alleged attacker in an earlier rape was indicted by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.

Fewer people have also been coming forward to report cases of wage theft or immigration fraud. Since May of this year, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office told Documented that they have seen a 48% decrease — from 87 to 45 — of calls made to the Immigrant Affairs Unit hotline which investigates a wide range of scams and conduct, such as wage theft or fake immigration services. With immigrants less likely to report to governmental agencies due to fear of sharing their personal information, it enables bad actors to exploit them — especially at a time when immigration scams have been on the rise, as Documented reported.