Michael Velázquez’s parents were very concerned because the neighborhood where they lived in Brooklyn was becoming increasingly unsafe. So they decided to move to Queens, to an area populated mostly by Colombian immigrants.
Things were not very different there, but at least Velázquez’s mother, who was Colombian, felt calmer.
For his part, he was concerned about other things, for example, the abuse of immigrants who did not speak English and the mistreatment to which they were subjected.
“When I saw that I thought, ‘how can I help them?’”, he said. “And he was reading and talking with professors as I realized that to help them I had to go to law school.”
After finishing high school, Velázquez began his studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. However, he had to stop the race when his first child was born, plus the school fees were too high for him. Luckily, and because he was passionate about the law, he got a job at a law office. Since then, she has worked in several firms as a legal assistant.
Currently, and for almost 30 years, she has worked at William Schwitzer & Associates, PC, one of the most important law firms in New York.
Its functions have to do with compensation for injuries. But Velázquez, who has been handling this type of case for 20 years, considers that many people do not report their cases because they are in the country without legal documents and fear they will be deported.
“But what I have done is make them feel comfortable”, he said. “And I tell them that in this country they have rights like any citizen.”
Velázquez is proud of his record over the last three years. With all the cases he has won without having to go to court, he has collected about 4.5 million dollars for the firm he represents and for his clients.
This makes him very happy and satisfied with the career he has chosen, so much so that he is considering going back to school or looking for way to obtain a law degree.
“Let’s see if one day I’ll do it”, he said. “But for now I take one day at a time.”