Amid hearing of the ongoing migrant crisis debate that seems to be defining New York City as of now, I am reminded of a childhood story my mother would tell me now and again.
She always told it humorously, but even as a child I always saw an intense, unfunny truth in it.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she grew up hearing stories of the United States that constantly glorified its perfections. Clean streets, perfect homes, perfect people.
At the age of eight, her family left behind the only world they knew for that perfect America they had built up in their minds.
Arriving in New York in the middle of a harsh winter, her mind was filled with anticipation and wonder. However, after stepping off the plane and driving to their new home, her vision of the States quickly faded when she saw this country’s reality.
She was welcomed with filthy snow, garbage-filled streets, and people not believing she was good enough to be here.
This crushing feeling of coming to the country of your dreams and being hit with the heavy realization that this isn’t a paradise that will welcome you with open arms is a tale as old as this country itself.
In the past year, New York City has seen over 118,000 migrants from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, all seeking asylum and refuge in the place that advertises itself as the land of immigrants.
The United States Border Patrol has reported spikes in the number of unauthorized attempts to enter U.S. soil.
In an ABC article, an anonymous Border Patrol official was quoted as saying that they were greeted by an estimated 9,000 migrants at the Southwest border in a single day.
Instead of being accepted – they bear witness to protesters who dehumanize them or are taken by government agents who lock them in cages.
But with these shocking, record-breaking numbers and America’s historical immigrant hub being forced to carry most of this weight responsibly, what has our government done to ensure these people are taken care of? What has the Biden administration done to welcome these migrants?
Nothing.
And as the government continues to bury its head gleefully in the sand as the New York mayor begs for aid, we the people are forced to step out where our federal leaders are failing.
And this responsibility is turning many bitter.
With the rise of immigration, a rise in anti-immigrant sentiment has followed closely behind.
On Sept. 5, hundreds of Americans gathered outside of St. John Villa in Staten Island – a former Catholic school that has turned into a migrant shelter housing over 300 – to wanting to “send them back home.”
Protests like this are not an isolated incident.
In a Sept. 27 NPR article, Jasmine Garsd talked to one protester who fell into a common trope stigmatizing immigrants when talking about a shelter located near an all-girls school.
“You’ve got girls walking around, you know, in school. It’s not right.”
This man argues that the students will be put in danger because of the nearby migrants but in actuality, Garsd discovered that the rate of sex crimes in the area remained unchanged since the migrant shelter opened.
Many are forgetting the fact that these are actual humans in need and only seeing that their city is becoming overpopulated as our leaders choose to not figure out a long-term solution.
They claim that it’s all becoming too much. They claim that it’s a waste of their taxpaying money being used to house migrants while actual Americans are suffering on the streets.
Their anger is not unfounded though. While I don’t agree with the extreme anti-immigrant mindset, it would be naive of me to not see that New Yorkers are struggling.
Yes, other national and even international situations require attention and financial backing.
But just because those situations exist, it does not mean we should turn our backs on people wanting more than anything to be American. People who have risked their lives, left behind their entire world, just for the slim chance to gain half the amount of privileges and protections we sometimes take for granted.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams told reporters that this crisis will destroy New York City if the federal government does not step in.
As the migrant issue continues to grow, it is estimated that it will cost taxpayers nearly $12 billion over the next three fiscal years without government intervention.
And why doesn’t the government intervene?
Because they don’t care. America as an institution has never truly cared for immigrants.
Migrants have always been the true architects of America. From the Chinese immigrants of the 1800s, the Irish and Italian immigrants of the early 1900s, to the Jewish immigrants of the 1930s and 40s.
Immigrants are the ones who have built America into the titan it is today. And instead of showing gratitude and finding a way to take care of them, we continue to repeat our hateful history.
Etched onto a plaque on the Statue of Liberty, an international symbol of American migration, reads: “Give me your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
That is the image America has curated for itself. An image that my mother and other immigrants believed to be true.
But if that plaque spoke the cold truth, it would quote our very own Vice President when talking to people fighting to be Americans.
“Do not come.”
