[ We do not accept New York City and State officials’ cruel
response to asylum seekers, scapegoating new arrivals to defund public
goods for everyone. Mayor Eric Adams announced a city hiring freeze,
cuts of 15% for all New York City public agencies.]
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SOCIALISTS IN OFFICE CONDEMN NEW YORK’S FAILURE TO SUPPORT
IMMIGRANTS AND ASYLUM SEEKERS  
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New York City Democratic Socialists
September 18, 2023
New York City Democratic Socialists
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_ We do not accept New York City and State officials’ cruel
response to asylum seekers, scapegoating new arrivals to defund public
goods for everyone. Mayor Eric Adams announced a city hiring freeze,
cuts of 15% for all New York City public agencies. _

Migrants sit in a queue outside of The Roosevelt Hotel that is being
used by the city as temporary house, July 31, in NEw York, Mayor Adams
has further tightened shelter rules by limiting adult migrants to just
30 dys to help ease pressures on the , city's struggling shelter
system. (AP Photo/John Minchillo // AP News)

 

In response to Governor Hochul & Mayor Adams’ policy proposals and
rhetoric towards asylum seekers, twenty legislators in NYS including
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Senator Julia Salazar, and
Councilmember Tiffany Cabán released the following statement: 

We do not accept New York City and State officials’ cruel response
to asylum seekers, and the scapegoating of those new arrivals to
defund public goods for everyone. Most recently, Mayor Eric Adams has
announced a city hiring freeze and cuts of up to 15%
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all of New York City’s public agencies. This is only the latest
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a series of actions that Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul have taken
to cut social services
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maintain the profits of their wealthy donors. In a city with more
billionaires than anywhere else in the world, these cuts are
manufactured scarcity, plain and simple. On top of his dangerous
policy agenda, Mayor Adams has been echoing the xenophobia of Donald
Trump and Curtis Sliwa, pitting working-class New Yorkers against new
arrivals. He is trying to distract us from the government’s failure
to make New York a livable place for everyone. The Mayor wants working
people to feel small and afraid, but we know better. Nothing will ever
“destroy” New York.

Many of the new arrivals have been displaced as a result of
destabilizing economic policies by the United States’ ruling class:
from the climate crisis caused by multinational corporations to direct
foreign interventions against nations like Venezuela, Cuba, and
Guatemala. They have been bussed from states like Florida and Texas as
a cruel political game only to be met with more of the same
exclusionary actions and hateful language; more than thirty counties
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New York State have taken steps to block new residents from arriving,
in direct contradiction to our constitution’s statewide Right to
Shelter. But this crisis is not going away; hundreds of millions of
people are expected to be displaced globally
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to the climate crisis in the next few years, and many more are being
displaced by the actions of Wall Street and our federal government. We
have to get serious about building public infrastructure with an
understanding that there is enough for all of us. 

There is no easy solution to a crisis that has been created by decades
of prioritizing private interests over investing in public
infrastructure. But as socialists in office, we are part of a movement
of working-class people that has been fighting for full investment in
schools, housing, transportation, and healthcare we can all benefit
from. WHILE OUR STATE’S EXECUTIVES POINT FINGERS AND EVADE
RESPONSIBILITY, WE AS ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ON THE FEDERAL, STATE,
AND LOCAL LEVELS DEMAND THESE INTERMEDIATE STEPS TO MEET OUR CURRENT
MOMENT WITH COURAGE AND HUMANITY.

* New York City

* STOP VIOLENT BUDGET CUTS: When it comes to priorities, New York
City has an overinflated police and corrections budget. The Vera
Institute has identified almost $1 billion in “duplicative and
unnecessary enforcement.
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That, and much more, can be redirected towards more useful ends. All
across New York State, we must prioritize the lives of the people
living here, rather than engage in austerity politics.
* EXPAND RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER PROGRAMS: New York City must
move quickly to implement the expansion of the CityFHEPS program that
the city council passed earlier this year, over the attempted veto of
Mayor Adams. By getting people out of shelters and into permanent
housing, we can ease the strain on our shelter system and create more
room for incoming asylum seekers. Shelters were never meant to be a
permanent solution, and localities across the state must act with
urgency to fund pathways to affordable housing.
* GREATER TRANSPARENCY AROUND RESPITE CENTERS: The unnecessary
secrecy around the opening and closing of respite centers has created
uncertainty for those being housed and fostered reactionary fear in
nearby communities. More clear communication around these respite
centers will normalize the process as well as enable mutual aid groups
to more easily support new residents where local government has
failed. Additionally, many of the corporate providers the city has
chosen to contract with have a track record of abuse and
mismanagement. We need to include and prioritize local organizations
who know our city and provide them with the resources they need to be
successful.

* Local Jurisdictions Outside NYC

* WELCOME NEW ARRIVALS OUTSIDE OF NEW YORK CITY: As migration fueled
by a displacement and climate crisis becomes the new norm, areas
outside of New York City must be part of the solution. Underfunded
infrastructure and housing insecurity have impacted the entirety of
New York, not just New York City, and our focus must be on building a
strong foundation for all of us, old and new, instead of playing into
the divisions the rich have created.

* New York State

* UTILIZE THE $13 BILLION “ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTIES”
FUND: Although the state budget cycle is months away, the Governor
has amassed more than $13 billion in an “economic uncertainties”
fund that allows us to have budget flexibility to meet moments like
these. While the Governor claims
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“New York City and New York State are deploying all available
resources,” there is funding from previous budget cycles that is
already available in the short-term, but is apparently not being
utilized. 
* ENFORCE STATEWIDE RIGHT TO SHELTER AS WRITTEN IN NEW YORK’S
CONSTITUTION: Although New York City is the only locality with a
consent decree enforcing right to shelter, that right exists across
our entire state. It’s time for Governor Hochul to enforce this
outside of New York City, rather than seeking to dismantle it
entirely. 
* PASS REAL HOUSING SOLUTIONS IN NEXT YEAR’S LEGISLATIVE
SESSION: We have failed to meet the housing crisis despite
near-constant protest from tenants across the state. We must finally
meet the affordability crisis by passing Good Cause Eviction, fully
funding existing public housing, building new public and social
housing, and investing in statewide rental assistance. 
* FUND RESOURCES FOR ALL NEW YORKERS: The vast majority of us have
felt the strain of rising prices from the grocery aisle to the housing
market. Meanwhile, the richest New Yorkers have grown their wealth
since the pandemic, and it’s past time they pay their fair share.
Along with real housing solutions, socialists in office have been
fighting for full funding of schools, higher-education, and
healthcare. We can pay for these public services by raising taxes on
the top 5% of New Yorkers [[link removed]].

* Federal Government

* END THE RUBIO-TRUMP 2017 SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELA: The root causes
of the economic precarity and destabilization that has forced
thousands to leave their homes and seek shelter in the United States
can be attributed to US foreign policy: sanctions, exploitative trade
agreements, and political coups. By ending sanctions on Venezuela, we
can begin to improve the economic conditions contributing to
destabilization and displacement. 
* WORK AUTHORIZATIONS: According to the Biden administration, only
16% of recent arrivals who are eligible to work have applied for work
authorization. The Administration should improve outreach to eligible
asylum seekers, provide language accessible ways for them to apply for
their Employment Authorization Documents and reduce bureaucratic and
financial barriers to obtaining work authorization. Moreover,
re-designating Venezuela for TPS and expanding parole for Venezuelans
is the fastest way to get people work authorization. 
* RELEASE FEDERAL FUNDS TO NEW YORK STATE TO IMPROVE PUBLIC SERVICES
IN THIS TIME OF NEED: The amount of federal aid to municipalities and
organizations serving new arrivals should be proportionate to the
population. With 110,000 migrants arriving in New York City since
April 2022, and with over 60,000 currently in its care, federal
agencies including HUD, FEMA, USCIS and EOIR should coordinate an
interagency response that 1) frees up housing vouchers 2) provides
funds to the city and service organizations 3) streamlines the asylum
seeker process and 4) clears up the application backlog. The federal
government that has been driving displacement abroad bears a financial
responsibility here.
* COMPREHENSIVE IMMIGRATION REFORM: We must stop toggling between
xenophobic immigration policy and rapid response that stresses our
existing infrastructure. The U.S. must address the legal status of 11
million undocumented immigrants in this country and reform our
outdated immigration legal system, including digitizing applications.
Not only do we need to meet the needs of recent arriving immigrants,
we must lay out a pathway for citizenship for longtime residents who
have placed roots in this country, and proactively plan for 21st
century labor needs.

ELECTEDS SIGNED ON: 

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ, Member of Congress, NY District 14

JULIA SALAZAR, New York State Senator, District 18

JABARI BRISPORT, New York State Senator, District 25

KRISTEN GONZALEZ, New York State Senator, District 59

EMILY GALLAGHER, New York State Assemblymember, District 50

MARCELA MITAYNES, New York State Assemblymember, District 51

SARAHANA SHRESTHA, New York State Assemblymember, District 103

ZOHRAN MAMDANI, New York State Assemblymember, District 36

PHARA SOUFFRANT FORREST, New York State Assemblymember, District 57

TIFFANY CABÁN, New York City Councilmember, District 22

ALEXA AVILÉS, New York City Councilmember, District 38

PHIL ERNER, Ulster County Legislator, District 6

MEGAN DEICHLER, City of Poughkeepsie Councilmember, Ward 8

GISELLE MARTINEZ, City of Newburgh Councilmember, Ward 1

JORGE DEFENDINI, Ithaca City Councilmember, Ward 4

CAROLYN DELVECCHIO HOFFMAN, Monroe County Legislator, District 25

MARY LUPIEN, City of Rochester Council Vice President, East District

KIM SMITH, City of Rochester Councilmember, At-Large

STANLEY MARTIN, City of Rochester Councilmember, At-Large

COLIN PALMER, Town of Riverhead President of the Board of Education

VERONICA PILLAR, Tompkins County Legislature, District 2

GABRIELLA A. ROMERO, Albany Common Councilmember, Ward 6

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ABOUT NYC-DSA [[link removed]]: New York City Democratic
Socialists is the local chapter of Democratic Socialists of
America—the largest socialist organization in the United States with
over 85,000 members. NYC-DSA is run by its 6,000+ members and
activists who are working together to build a democratic socialist
organization in the five boroughs.

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NEW YORK CITY DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS
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* migrants
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* Immigrants
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* asylum seekers
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* New York City
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* New York State
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* Mayor Eric Adams
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* Eric Adams
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* Kathy Hochul
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* Gov. Kathy Hochul
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* public services
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* socialists
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* socialist electoral strategy
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* socialist elected officials
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* Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
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* AOC
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* Julia Salazar
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* Tiffany Caban
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