Dear neighbors,

Yesterday, the number of asylum seekers who have arrived in New York since May officially surpassed 10,000.

Many of these 10,000 people seeking safety and freedom in the United States have been bussed up from Florida and Texas in the past few weeks.

Dastardly politicians like Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are using these asylum seekers as pawns in a political stunt to drum up headlines for their national partisan ambitions. It’s cruel and it's wrong to exploit vulnerable human beings this way.

As Emma Lazarus’ poem inscribed on Lady Liberty reminds us, our country welcomes with open arms the “tired… poor… huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Migrants seeking asylum in our country have a legal right to be here, and our city must and will do what it can to support them.

We’re fortunate to have incredible community-based organizations working tirelessly on the ground to help provide asylum seekers with food, clothing, shelter, and support to navigate the immense challenges that lay ahead.

I know times may be hard for many in our community, but if you are able to, please support South Brooklyn Mutual Aid (at Good Shepard Lutheran Church), our local mutual aid network in Bay Ridge that is creating a support community for arriving asylum seekers, and the New York Immigrant Coalition, who are welcoming asylum seekers and providing them with care and support.

These organizations need our support as they do this critical work.

Donate to South Brooklyn Mutual Aid

Donate to the NY Immigrant Coalition

The New York Immigrant Coalition is also looking for volunteers to assist and welcome these new arrivals to our city.

Volunteer with the NY Immigrant Coalition

Together, we must do what we can to help welcome our new neighbors with open arms. If you or a migrant family you know needs help, please reach out to my office, where I will be happy to offer any assistance available.

With philoxenia,