New York City Mayor Eric Adams has made a controversial decision to displace students from James Madison High School in order to make room for migrants, forcing the American children to learn from home. Due to weather concerns, the city relocated nearly 2,000 illegal aliens from the Floyd Bennett Field tent shelter to the school. Brooklyn residents vociferously disapproved of the move, feeling that public school education was forced to take a backseat to the needs of the recently arrived illegal aliens.
Furious parents questioned the practicality of the decision. One parent asked, “What are parents with jobs supposed to do with their kids while they work?” Another challenged the efficacy of remote learning saying, “There is data on how students respond to remote learning, and the majority do not perform well. [Illegal aliens] chose to break into the U.S. illegally in the middle of winter and then chose to go to NYC. They need to take some personal accountability for their actions.”
Other residents questioned the ongoing leniency shown to migrants illegally in the U.S. “It’s a litmus test. They are using a storm, a legitimate situation, where they are testing this out. I guarantee you they’ll be here for the entire summer. There’s 1,900 people getting thrown into my neighborhood, half a block from where I live and we don’t know who they are,” a Brooklyn resident told the Post. He then questioned the vetting procedures and possible criminal backgrounds of these individuals.
Additionally, legislators raised concerns regarding Mayor Adams’ decision. Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Queens) stated that she warned the Adams administration but that they refused to listen. “Floyd Bennett Field is entirely unsuitable for a tent complex, and now we are wasting taxpayer dollars to evacuate nearly 2,000 people.” New York State Assembly candidate Col. Tom Sullivan similarly criticized the move: “[E]veryone, except apparently those running the camp, knew [the move] would be a disaster.” Sullivan then described the city’s shelling out millions for a camp that makes the community less safe as a “slap in the face.”
Sullivan’s statement comes just weeks after the sanctuary city mayors of New York, Chicago, and Denver asked the Biden Administration for federal support due to the onslaught of illegal aliens arriving in their cities. So far, these cries for help have gone unanswered. As long as the Biden Administration refuses to secure our borders, the surge will continue and sanctuary cities will be a magnet for more illegal immigration.
In October, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) introduced legislation that would prohibit the use of federal parks as encampments for illegal aliens. H.R. 5283 passed the House of Representatives, yet failed to gain traction in the Senate. After seeing what happened with the illegal aliens from Floyd Bennet Field, Malliotakis took the opportunity to call out her colleagues across the aisle: “Shutting down a school and forcing students to take virtual classes for illegal aliens. Nice job Democrats!”
When asked about the situation, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shamefully passed the buck, saying that it is “something that New York needs to answer to,” overlooking the role the Biden administration has played in the unfolding events.
The decision to house the illegal aliens at James Madison High School caused so much controversy that the migrants were quickly moved back to Floyd Bennett Field with city officials saying they would not be using the school “to shelter asylum seekers ever again.” However, City Hall spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak defended the initial decision to move them saying the decision was made “out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals working and living at the center.”
The bottom line is that sanctuary cities, like New York, will continue to grapple with the repercussions of illegal immigration as long as maintain policies that welcome illegal aliens the Biden Administration continues to champion its open-borders policies.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Close the border.