Mayor Eric Adams doubled down on his calls for expedited work visas for arriving asylum-seekers—roughly 100,000—at a huge rally in Foley Square in Manhattan this past Thursday. This comes a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul addressed President Joe Biden on the same issue.
Adams repeated his assertion that immigration is a national, not city, issue and asked for more federal resources to handle the crisis.
“[I] want to thank our colleagues who are here, coming united, [with] different views, political spectrum views, different ways of approaching things, but we are united on the same concept and belief that the precursor to [allowing] us to experience the American dream is the right to work, the right to prevail, the right to provide for your family,” said Adams.
Adams was joined by asylum-seekers, other elected officials, and union organizations such as District Council 37 (DC 37); Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC); Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU); RWDSU Local 338; Communications Workers of America (CWA) 1180; and 1199 Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Deimer Bonilla Asprilla, a member of La Colmena and an asylum-seeker from Colombia, said via a translator, “I am here to work to be able to support my family and to be able to contribute to the economy. It is important that we are heard in Washington. That support is needed to obtain our permit. But more than anything, it is time U.S. immigration law changed for the actuality to be a pathway to citizenship for not only us, but for all those immigrants who have been here for 20 or 10 years.”
Vishally Persaud, a delegate for 1199 SEIU and originally from British Guyana in South America, spoke about her experiences as a home care worker and a single mom of two living on Staten Island. She recalled fearing for her father, who only had a green card at the time, as he went out to look for work.
“I came here when I was 10 years old, with my mom and dad. We had nothing in America,” said Persaud. “We traveled so many miles. We left everything behind—our family, our loved ones.”
Persaud said she is proud to now be a U.S. citizen of this country. “I came from an eight-hour shift all the way here and I’m proud to be here. Mr. Mayor, I want to say thank you very much for having me here and we will continue fighting as a union worker and a union,” she said.
“For generations, immigrants have come to this city, and what a beautiful morning it is in this city to stand with asylum-seekers and immigrant advocates and our labor partners and our elected officials, including the mayor and the public advocate and so many more,” said Comptroller Brad Lander.
Lander endorsed the call on the federal government to accelerate work authorization, extend temporary protective status, and support refugee resettlement in New York City as well as New York State.
“No hate, no fear. Immigrants are welcome here,” chanted Public Advocate Jumaane Williams during his speech, in which he highlighted the plight of African and Caribbean immigrants.
Williams also said that it’s not enough to send federal staff to New York City, but that new nationwide immigration reforms must be implemented to combat this humanitarian crisis.
Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.