With banners and loud voices, a group of protesters delivered a very clear message this Friday, a day after the mayor forgot about immigrants in his citywide speech: that when immigrants are attacked, they fight back and defend them.
“Historically, this is a city made up of and made up of immigrants, and if immigrants are absent, this city does not run. And I believe they should be honored and rewarded with the services they need to live a dignified life , ” said Arcelis Lucero, MASA director.
In his annual speech detailing his political agenda, Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday talked about jobs, safety, health and housing.
But with the city facing a serious homelessness crisis, it has forgotten about the new arrivals.
Andrea Ortiz, an activist, said, “Yeah, we saw a speech yesterday where the mayor basically cut us out of his vision for the city.”
“Last week he proposed a budget where he plans to take more money from schools, where he has no plans to help newcomers seeking asylum so that they have permanent housing, not just temporary housing,” Ortiz said.
In his speech to the city, the mayor barely mentioned immigrants, protests were swift and immigrants on the steps of his offices told him of their discontent.
“They start saying we don’t have a place for immigrants, we’re a very diverse city and we have to protect that,” Ortiz said.
The protesters’ concern stems from the mayor’s recent statements questioning the asylum rights of immigrants seeking asylum in NY.
There was also a complaint about cuts in the education budget.
“He’s asking for over $225 million in cuts that will affect teacher numbers, which will affect children’s emotional social support,” Lucero said.
