World’s Borough stands up for migrant communities as Trump strips protections
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Queens Borough President Donovan Richards and immigrant groups spoke out against the Trump administration’s continued immigration enforcement efforts on Monday. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
By Ryan Schwach
Queens officials gathered on Monday at Queens Borough Hall to speak out and condemn the anti-immigrant policies of President Donald Trump as the administration gets closer to revoking the temporary protected status of thousands of New Yorkers.
Borough President Donovan Richards, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and a host of other Queens immigrant groups used words like "tyrannical,” “fascist” and “cruel,” to describe continuing ICE raids and immigration arrests under Trump.
Speakers also called for the extension of Temporary Protective Status for Nepalese immigrants and other immigrant populations, which the Trump Administration is currently trying to revoke.
“We will not cower in fear in Queens County, we will not lay down while he strips protections from thousands of us, because today and every day, we stand in solidarity with our immigrant communities,” said Richards. “We say no to xenophobia and racism. We say no to masked agents with no badges, kidnapping people off our streets.”
“That's exactly what fascism looks like,” he added. “Don't get it twisted. The cruelty is the point of this fascist administration…There's a man in the White House who doesn't believe in Queens’ values, even though he grew up here.”
Richards was joined in the atrium at Queens Borough Hall by immigrant groups from the borough’s Nepalese, Caribbean, Latin American communities, and others – nearly all of whom are threatened by Trump’s immigration policies.
“From the unfounded cancelations of TPS for numerous countries to unleashing INCE into our neighborhoods, to wreaking havoc on our courts, our immigrant neighbors have been bombarded nonstop with destructive and irrational policies since Trump took office earlier this year,” said Vanessa Ordoñez, the director of immigrant affairs at the BP’s office.
TPS protections are currently set to expire on Aug. 5 for Nepalese New Yorkers, and in September for those from the Central American nations of Honduras and Nicaragua. Those efforts from the Trump administration are currently being fought in court.
The Trump administration has also tried to revoke TPS for Haitian migrants.
“Due to this administration, people are living in fear,” said Namrata Rimal of Adhikaar, a Nepalese advocacy group. “People are stuck with no time to address their status. We need TPS. We need to organize and we need to stand strong.”
Queens is home to around 87 percent of the city’s 6,000 plus Nepalese residents, according to the Asian American Federation.
“We never thought in America we would have to see this situation,” Chhemang Lama, a Nepalese district leader, said. “We never thought that now we can see the dark, but we are together. We can bring the light together. We can bring the light.”
“We are not temporary,” said Lama. “We belong here.”
Queens immigrant groups called on the city to protect its migrant communities as Trump works to strip protections. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach
On Monday, the city penned a brief in the case over TPS protections between the federal government and national TPS advocates.
“Stripping them of legal status and work authorization would not only be cruel, it would destabilize our city,” Manuel Castro, commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, said in the statement to Gothamist. “We urge the federal government to act with urgency to protect families impacted by this, including passage of long overdue comprehensive immigration reform.”
According to city data reported by Gothamist, more than 111,000 migrants have applied for TPS, work authorization, or asylum with the city's assistance.
The fight over TPS comes after many groups in Queens fear for their safety amid ICE arrests in courthouses and threats from the Trump administration to increase raids in the city. The fight also comes as the Trump administration challenges New York City’s sanctuary city laws in court.
“Trump's cruel immigration policies are not actually about national security,” said Ordoñez. “They're not about protecting those who live in the United States from criminals. These policies, such as the rescinding of TPS, are and have always been rooted in racism, the fear of the other and white supremacy.”
Public Advocate Williams called Trump a “Nazi sympathizer,” and called on New Yorkers to continue to stand up for immigrant communities in Queens and across the city.
“Don't look away,” he said. “Step up and understand that we are all in it together, period, all immigrants, all Americans, our trans community, our LGBT community, there is no one that can be left behind.”
Richards echoed similar calls for advocacy and defense of immigrant communities, adding that the Trump administration is trying to “ethically cleanse this borough and this country.”
“This will always be the place where immigrants are welcome with open arms, not closed fists,” he said. “So, to Donald Trump, we're here today to say we will not back down without a fight. We will see you in the courtroom and in the boardroom, because Queens stands without immigrant communities no matter what.”
