A group of pro-immigrant activists expressed their rejection of the visit of the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to our city.
“We immigrants here in New York are united and we are saying ‘no more’ to the anti-immigrant hatred that he wants to spread, we have seen his actions are anti-immigrant and we are saying ‘no’, ‘you and your hatred are not welcome here to New York State,'” said Yatziri Tobar of Make the Road NY.
Abbott arrived in New York to attend the annual Republican Party State Committee gala at the Hilton hotel in Midtown.
But these activists did not want to miss the opportunity to send a message of opposition to Abbott, whom they accuse of using asylum seekers for political purposes, sending them by bus from Texas to New York and other states for two years.
They highlighted that for them, this action is not only cruel, but also complicates the lives of thousands of people, forcing them to start over in places they did not choose, and putting even more pressure on already saturated local services.
“What they have done to them is very ugly, especially because many times the way one builds one’s life is by finding the community one has. To a relative in a city or a place where they know him and he took away their options to do that,” said Nicolás Botero, Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH).
Despite the obstacles faced by immigrants arriving in the city, activists highlight the work of the municipal government that has offered shelter, medical care, education, among other resources.
Even so, some immigrants feel dejected by the rejection.
“You feel bad, you feel sad, you get depressed.”
During his speech at the event, Abbott defended his decision to send migrants crossing the border to other states and criticized the Adams administration.
For his part, Mayor Adams, faced with Abbott’s visit, proposed taking him to a shelter.
“For him to see firsthand the result of his policies and how we treat everyone with respect and dignity, which is something he should have done,” Adams said.
The latest figures from the mayor’s office show that, since April 2022, more than 187,300 asylum seekers have arrived in the city. Of those, more than 64,400 immigrants are under the care of the municipal government.
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