The New York Immigration Coalition said on Wednesday it has been working with partner organizations, legal service provides and the Consulate General of Mexico to ensure once President Obama announces his relief remedies for immigrants, they are able to provide information and services to eligible New Yorkers.

The president's immigration reforms will be delivered in a national address at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Nov. 20.

"We are at a very exciting moment. We are ready for what we think is going to be an historic announcement by the president ... that will potential provide millions of immigrants all across this country with protection against deportation and for the first time they may potentially be able to work legally," Steven Choi, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition, told reporters.

Choi added, "We are here to give two messages ... it is critical to get accurate information to not have community members be the victim of fraud ... do not give your money to anybody because we don't know the details. There is an office of New Americans hotline for people who want to get a referral for a free consultation, this is a statewide hotline 1-800-566-7636 that has translations services available."

Advocates are telling immigrations to prepare their documents -- identity documents to prove who a person is, documents to prove relationships (marriage, divorce, birth certificates), immigration history (old immigration applications, copies of notices), criminal history, and documents to prove people have been in U.S. (income tax returns). NYIC has a page on their website for a list of documents,

There is great concern among advocate groups that the minute the relief reforms are announced, scam artists and fraudsters will swoop into immigrant communities and exploit vulnerable and susceptible immigrants.

"Our unit was created in 2007. Since then, our mission has been to aggressively investigate and prosecute those crimes committed against immigrants, especially as immigrants are seeking legal services. We are also aggressively educating the community about different frauds and scams that target immigrant communities because immigrants are sometimes vulnerable and susceptible to fraud," Rosemary Yu, Assistant District Attorney and co-director of the Immigrant Affairs Program, told reporters.

Yu said, "We want the community to know, documented or undocumented, that if they have been defrauded, victimized in any way, they have the absolutely right to report they've been a victim of a crime, and that we will not deport them to ICE for deportation."

Yu said there are some tips to avoid fraud.

"Don't pay in cash, but in check or money order. Always get a receipt. Make sure you get, and have and maintain copies of documents. Do not sign blank documents or documents you don't understand, and verify service providers credentials and always seek a second opinion," said Yu.

On Sunday, Nov. 23 in Queens, NYIC is holding an event with partner organizations, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Queens Pathways to Graduate High School, 162-02 Hillside Avenue, Jamaica, Queens. Partner organizations include New Immigrant Community Empowerment, and American Immigration Lawyers Association -- New York Chapter.

The New York statewide hotline for New Americans is 1-800-566-7636 and there are translators.