Hello !, says the city of the new assistance center which will welcome 500 new immigrants to Randall Island starting this Wednesday and which Mayor Eric Adams hopes will be a relief for a humanitarian crisis lasting several months.
The day before, the authorities had offered a press tour showing where the food will be served, it will be possible to watch television, make international calls and sleep. The refuge is reserved for single men.
But what the New York immigration authorities present with “clamor and cymbals” is not seen in the same way by activists who welcome immigrants and have first contact with them.
“It’s almost like a cage, like a roof, it’s not a house, it’s not something they’ll be safe from,” said Artists Athletes Activists’ Power Malú.
In addition to comparing the giant tents erected in a parking lot under a bridge to concentration camps, activists argue that the site is not sheltered from the winter cold or possible flooding that often occurs there.
They demanded that immigrants be housed in hotels in different parts of the Big Apple. But after a rainy day led to the abandonment of camping at Orchard Beach due to possible transportation costs, Randall Island was chosen.
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“Power Malú” believes that as a “sanctuary city”, as New York defines itself by politicians, the effort is insufficient.
“We have to be the change so that the rest of the world understands how to treat a human being. And with love, with dignity “, added Malú.
About 20,000 people, mostly from Venezuela, have arrived by bus from Texas since last April, according to authorities. But President Biden’s administration has already put a stop to the southern border and the influx has been less in recent days.
For those who are already here the vicissitudes continue. Only two buses arrived very early this Wednesday at the Port Authority terminal in Manhattan, but among the men there were children and women even without coats.
“This hurts a lot, because the kids come here and they don’t know what’s going on,” Malu said.
The new shelter on Randall Island is expected to hold 500 single men, though reports say it could hold a thousand if needed.
