Even within the reliably leftist borders of New York City, locals are starting to take action against the unchecked influx of undocumented immigrants.
Earlier this week, a group of protesters attempted to stop a bus transporting migrants by bus to a nursing home that had been converted into a shelter.
With tens of thousands of migrants entering the nation’s most populous city over the course of the past year, housing has been one of the chief concerns. Despite transforming hotels and other facilities into makeshift shelters, many migrants have been spotted sleeping on sidewalks in recent months.
Democratic Mayor Eric Adams recently declared that the crisis will “destroy” the city, although he spoke out forcefully against the response from concerned New Yorkers on Staten Island this week.
A total of 10 protesters were arrested at the scene on Tuesday evening after allegedly beating on the sides of the bus and attempting to stop traffic so the migrants could not be relocated to the facility.
Nine of the individuals were reportedly given disorderly conduct citations but one could be in more serious legal trouble for allegedly assaulting a police officer.
Sal Monforte, one of those who participated in the demonstration, described the charges as unwarranted, explaining: “People were getting arrested for no reason. The 10 people that got arrested last night should never have gotten arrested.”
He went on to accuse Adams of improperly dispatching officers to the scene.
“Last night, there were more than 200 police officers,” Monforte said. “There were more police than protesters. It was an overstep by the mayor giving orders like this.”
Police arrested 10 people during a protest over a migrant shelter at an old assisted living facility in Staten Island Tuesday night, according to the NYPD. pic.twitter.com/Ar3q3cXdwn
— PIX11 News (@PIX11News) September 20, 2023
For his part, Adams described the protest as an “ugly display” by a “numerical minority” who used “hateful terms and hateful words.”
He insisted that the public backlash against a migrant invasion is “not a reflection of who the city is.”
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, however, said the activism will continue, declaring: “As I told them, they don’t have enough handcuffs, they don’t have enough cops, they don’t have enough cars. We’re going to be out here 24/7, 365, and the illegals are not going to want to come here. They should stay in Manhattan.”
