PARADISE VALLEY (By Daniel Gonzαlez, Arizona Republic)
November 20, 2004 -
Immigrants can now file discrimination and consumer fraud complaints at
a suburban satellite office recently opened by the state attorney
general as part of an effort to combat unscrupulous lenders. The
satellite office was opened earlier this month in response to the large
number of complaints received by community organizations from immigrants
who felt they had been unfairly denied housing or employment or had been
ripped off by predatory lenders who charged exorbitant interest rates
for car loans or mortgages, said Virginia Gonzales, chief counsel for
the civil rights division of the Attorney General's Office.
The satellite office at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix in Paradise Valley is the first in Arizona aimed at assisting the state's large number of immigrants who, because of language and cultural barriers, are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and consumer fraud, she said. But the office will serve all residents.
"A lot of immigrants are being targeted by people who want to take advantage of them because they are easy prey," said Jose Cortez, public relations director for Chicanos Por La Causa, a non-profit social service agency that assists Latinos.
Cortez said the new satellite office is in an area generally considered to be among the most affluent in the state, but is also home to a large concentration of immigrants employed at the many nearby resorts, or as housekeepers and landscapers.
"A lot of people don't realize how many immigrants work up north," Cortez said.
But some immigrant advocates believe a satellite office that targets immigrants would be better located in south or west Phoenix, home to the largest concentrations of immigrants.
"Here is the question everyone has been asking: Why Paradise Valley?" said Francisca Montoya, the former executive director of Stardust House, a neighborhood resource and learning center in south Phoenix.
The Attorney General's Office eventually plans to open more satellite offices in other areas of the Valley with large immigrant populations, Gonzales said.
The new satellite office is intended to provide a convenient location for immigrants who believe they have been victims of discrimination or consumer fraud, she said.
The satellite office at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix in Paradise Valley is the first in Arizona aimed at assisting the state's large number of immigrants who, because of language and cultural barriers, are particularly vulnerable to discrimination and consumer fraud, she said. But the office will serve all residents.
"A lot of immigrants are being targeted by people who want to take advantage of them because they are easy prey," said Jose Cortez, public relations director for Chicanos Por La Causa, a non-profit social service agency that assists Latinos.
Cortez said the new satellite office is in an area generally considered to be among the most affluent in the state, but is also home to a large concentration of immigrants employed at the many nearby resorts, or as housekeepers and landscapers.
"A lot of people don't realize how many immigrants work up north," Cortez said.
But some immigrant advocates believe a satellite office that targets immigrants would be better located in south or west Phoenix, home to the largest concentrations of immigrants.
"Here is the question everyone has been asking: Why Paradise Valley?" said Francisca Montoya, the former executive director of Stardust House, a neighborhood resource and learning center in south Phoenix.
The Attorney General's Office eventually plans to open more satellite offices in other areas of the Valley with large immigrant populations, Gonzales said.
The new satellite office is intended to provide a convenient location for immigrants who believe they have been victims of discrimination or consumer fraud, she said.
