Year-in-Review 2022

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January

Haitian migration increased dramatically in 2021: UN
The United Nations said that the number of Haitians who have tried to migrate by unofficial channels to neighboring countries by boat has increased dramatically in 2021.
The UN said the true scope of the number of people who are leaving Haiti is “difficult to precisely calculate,” but the IOM noted that the Haitian Coast Guard intercepted at least 224 migrants at sea in 2020 and 605 in 2021.
The UN also said that, in October 2021, some 1,194 migrants, mainly men who were trying to reach Miami, Florida, were repatriated to Haiti.

Myrie legislation toughens penalties for consumer fraud amid COVID surge
As the pandemic continued to spike across New York, State Sen. Zellnor Y. Myrie (D-Central Brooklyn) saif legislation he has table would sharply increase civil financial penalties for white-collar crime committed in connection with COVID-19, imposing a civil penalty of three times the amount of any unlawful gain, or $25,000, whichever is greater.
“Demand for PCR and at-home rapid COVID tests is at an all-time high, and some bad actors are exploiting the current surge to seek ill-gotten profit from New Yorkers,” said Myrie, who represents the 20th Senate District in Brooklyn.
“From false promises of 48-hour results turnaround times to sudden price increases on at-home test kits, companies are preying on us during this already-difficult time,” added Myrie, whose grandmother hailed from Jamaica. “My bill would dramatically increase the cost of doing business for these white-collar fraudsters and scammers.”
He said the COVID-19 Fraud Accountability Act, (S.4954), would sharply increase civil financial penalties for white-collar crime committed in connection with COVID-19.