In August of 2016, District Attorney Hoovler launched a new initiative designed to assist Orange County’s immigrants in dealing with the criminal justice system. As part of the initiative, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has joined the New York State District Attorneys’ League of Immigrant Affairs (DALIA), an organization that comprises five other New York State district attorney’s offices in the New York City boroughs of Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, as well as Nassau County. In addition, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is seeking membership in the Protecting Immigrant New Yorkers (PINY) Task Force, a coalition of state, local, and federal agencies working together to protect immigrants from being defrauded.
Under the new initiative, immigrants who are victimized will have a single point-of-contact, the immigrant affairs coordinator, for assistance and information about their cases.
An immigrant who has been the victim of a crime will be able to call the immigrant affairs coordinator to report the crime, and the immigrant affairs coordinator, in turn, will ensure that the immigrant’s complaint is routed to the prosecution unit within the Orange County District Attorney’s Office that is most appropriate to investigate it. Victimized immigrants may report any type of crime, including violent crimes, human trafficking, domestic violence, and frauds. Immigrants and other interested people will also be able to contact the immigrant affairs coordinator for general information about the handling of criminal cases in Orange County.
In addition, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, under its existing community prosecution program, will be reaching out to immigrant associations and others who are active in immigrant affairs in an effort to ensure that word of the initiative is widely publicized.
Finally, as a member of DALIA (and if the District Attorney’s membership in the PINY Task Force is approved) the Orange County District Attorney’s Office will be periodically meeting with those groups to share ideas about how best to serve our immigrant communities.
If you are an immigrant and wish to report being the victim of a crime, or otherwise need assistance in dealing with a criminal case where you are the victim, or if you wish additional information about the initiative, please contact the immigrant affairs coordinator at (845) 615-3640.