Women arrested at illegal spas in Nassau risk deportation, but not in Suffolk #newyork #spa
Hadjira Allab fled Algeria in 2023 after she said she was raped and later faced death threats for rejecting Islamic rule.
After graduating with a degree in law and political science, the 31-year-old arrived in New York on a tourist visa, obtained a U.S. work permit and set out to pursue her version of the American dream.
But after trying to make a living for about two years — waitressing at a hookah lounge in Manhattan — her income barely allowed Allab and her boyfriend to pay the rent for a tiny bedroom in Queens.
She sought work at a massage spa in Hempstead, where she said she faced constant threats from the spa’s owner to provide illegal services.
On Long Island, the consequences of being arrested at an illicit massage spa depend less on the alleged crime than the county where police make the arrest.
How a Newsday investigation found at least 22 women arrested in Nassau massage spas were transferred to ICE under the county’s partnership with federal immigration authorities. In neighboring Suffolk, women arrested under nearly identical circumstances are released with summonses: https://www.nwsd.li/332ddf
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#longislandny #immigration #deportation #spa
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