New York City residents gathered Sunday to protest tent shelters being used to house illegal immigrants. New York Post report.
More than 100 local residents and elected officials have called for the city to cancel its lease with Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field, which has provided shelter for about 2,000 undocumented immigrants since last year.
“Today we say, ‘No more.'”
Protesters arrived at the rally in a caravan of 90 vehicles, carrying American flags and signs that read “Protect the American Dream,” “Stop Immigrant Crime” and “Cancel the Lease to Floyd Bennett.”
Residents have been complaining to the city since the shelters were opened.
After residents reported an increase in panhandling and criminal activity, Republican lawmakers wrote to the National Park Service in March requesting information about the vetting process for occupants at the refuge.
“Since the establishment of the migrant camp at Floyd Bennett Field, local and national media have reported an increase in crime in the migrant camp and in the areas immediately surrounding the park,” the letter said.
“Widely reported crimes in and around the Floyd Bennett Field migrant camp include domestic violence, assault, shoplifting, prostitution and panhandling fraud,” the report continued.
The first busload of illegal immigrants who arrived at the shelter in November refused to stay and demanded the city provide better accommodations, with many complaining that the shelter’s location was too far from their jobs and their children’s schools.
Brenda Lee, a New York City resident who attended Sunday’s protest, told the Post, “Illegal immigrants are being prioritized over New Yorkers, and many New Yorkers feel like this crisis is off the table and there is no end in sight.”
“We need to be specific about where this is going,” Lee continued. “How is it going to end?”
“Will it end?” she asked.
“There are other places these migrants can go that come from Base Camp,” City Council Member Joan Arriola (R-Brooklyn) told protesters during the rally.
“We need to be able to go and enjoy our national parks, and that’s been taken away from us,” Arriola said. “That was taken away this summer, and we shouldn’t be renewing it.”
“Today we say, ‘No more,'” declared Rep. Jaime Williams (R-Brooklyn), who took part in the protest.
“Now is the time to take back our communities, our cities, our state. But we are sending a very clear message to individuals who behave like thugs that our borders need to be closed,” Williams added.
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