They propose to house thousands of migrants arriving in New York on Rikers Island, a prison area

Dozens of people took to the front of the Gracie Mansion, the residence of New York Mayor Democrat Eric Adams, to protest about the immigration crisis the Big Apple is experiencing, yesterday Sunday.

“We come from different parts of the city to protest against the migrant centers in our neighbourhoods. We want to show the mayor that we are not going to let this happen. You have to stop inviting immigrants,” the leader of the anti-immigration protest, Curtis Sliwa, explained to EFE.

One of the solutions proposed by Sliwa is to create accommodation for newcomers on Rikers Island, an island located between Queens and The Bronx, in the East River, which is home to a conflicting maximum-security prison.

“Half the buildings on Rikers Island are empty, there are unused bedrooms, cafeterias, kitchens… The plumbing, electricity and ventilation would need to be repaired. This could be a space for 20,000 people,” explains Sliwa, who always wears a red beret to signify that he is part of the Guardian Angels.

Sliwa points out that this place could be an arrival point for foreigners to spend their first six months, a period during which they cannot work legally due to red tape.

“They can come and go while they are there, they can have medical checks, get vaccinated, we can check if they have a criminal record from the countries they come from,” he points out.

They are against the presence of immigrants

However, Sliwa wasn’t quite as politically correct in his speech at today’s protest, where he shouted statements like, “Americans first and immigrants last in line.”

For their part, those present rubbed their shoulders: “Send them back.”

There were also, albeit to a much lesser extent, those opposed to the protest, and at least one of them was arrested after attempting to set fire to an American flag.

Hit the Democrats

Over the past 15 months, more than 100,000 asylum seekers have arrived in New York, mostly in Manhattan, which is required by law to house them, saturating the public shelter system and leading to dozens of temporary housing units.

Despite the fact that Sunday’s protest took place in front of Adams’ residence, Sliwa says the culprit for this problem is United States President Joe Biden.

“The border is not safe. It’s utter chaos,” said Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels’ civilian patrol and a former Republican primary candidate for mayor of the city.

He stressed that “five buses arrive every day” full of migrants, sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott as part of his strategy to increase migratory pressure in Democratic strongholds.

The government “needs to develop a policy as New York City is running out of space and will (soon) be out of money,” Sliwa claimed.

State Governor Kathy Hochul expanded the emergency after asking Biden this week to involve the federal government in the crisis, especially by providing work permits to asylum seekers, which the White House has blamed on the lack of ” action by the government. Congress. (JO)

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