With immigrant communities across the country on high alert, Mayor Bill de Blasio has signed into law a set of stepped-up penalties for the unauthorized practice of immigration law in New York City.

The new law amends the city's regulations for service providers, such as by outlawing the advertisement of services such as guaranteeing to expedite immigration-related government benefits or other government action, as well as knowingly misleading someone about their benefit eligibility.

Unauthorized immigration law practitioners have been a longtime issue in the city, which teems with newly arrived immigrants with little to no ability to speak English and without the skills to navigate bureaucracy.