Legislators and community leaders on Thursday joined the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, in rallying at St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery against what they characterized as “the devastating new federal directive that strips longstanding protections from immigrant New Yorkers who seek resources in sensitive locations including hospitals, schools and houses of worship.”
“The Trump administration’s dangerous policy change exposes millions of New Yorkers — especially our most vulnerable neighbors — to immigration enforcement at sensitive locations,” said Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s president and chief executive officer.
He said these locations include: Schools where children seek education; hospitals and health clinics providing essential care; places of worship offering spiritual refuge; domestic violence shelters protecting vulnerable families; emergency response sites during disasters; and community gatherings, including funerals, weddings and religious ceremonies.
“Trump’s reckless sensitive location directive is an assault on New York’s immigrant communities and threatens the safety of all New Yorkers,” Awawdeh said. “When parents fear sending their children to school or seeking emergency medical care or reporting crimes, our entire city suffers.
“New York State and New York City must use their full authority to shield our communities from these destructive raids that tear families apart and undermine public safety, and Congress must step up in this moment to pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act,” he added.
“The time for action is now,” Awawdeh continued. “New York must stand firm against this deliberate campaign of fear and intimidation targeting our most vulnerable neighbors.”
New York State Sen. John Liu, who represents District 16 in northeast Queens, said: “This reckless rollback by the Trump administration undermines the trust that is essential in our schools, places of worship, hospitals and other community spaces.
“No child should ever fear that their parent could be taken away at school drop-off, and no family should have to choose between seeking medical care and avoiding deportation” added the chairperson of the Senate’s committee on New York City Education and also serves on the committees of Education, Finance, Higher Education, Judiciary, Rules and Transportation.
“We must remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting immigrant communities, and condemn these federal policies that sow fear and division and make everyone less safe and secure,” continued Liu, a former comptroller of the City of New York (2010-2013) and a New York City Councilmember (2002-2009).
Deputy Speaker of New York City Council Diana Ayala, said the Council is “making clear that we will not remain idle as this administration threatens to not only upend our communities but also sow fear and chaos.
“This new directive allowing ICE access to sensitive locations doesn’t make our immigrant communities safe by any means and only now force people to live in the shadows,” said Ayala, whose District 8 comprises Mott Haven-Port Morris, Melrose, Concourse-Concourse Village, Upper East Side-Carnegie Hill, Upper East Side-Yorkville, East Harlem (South), East Harlem (North) and Randall’s Island.
“Our work ahead will be long and difficult as we navigate an unpredictable administration whose intentions and actions are poised to harm us rather than support everyday people,” she added. “The Council is working to ensure that families are protected and ready for the evolving challenges and threat that this federal administration poses through resources we are helping provide on the ground.”
Dr. Steve Auerbach, a physician with New York Doctors (NYDocs) Coalition, noted that “doctors and other healthcare workers swore an oath that applies to the care and wellbeing of all our patients and all New Yorkers, regardless of country of origin or status.
“[The non-public patient-care areas of all] ERs, hospitals and clinics must remain free of ICE and any other immigration policing, so all our patients can be cared for securely, safely, and with the same privacy we all expect,” he said. “We call on our healthcare institutions to provide the clear messaging, guidance, and training that we need to prevent such disruptions in care for all our patients.”
The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer, executive director, Interfaith Center of New York, said: “Mosques in the Bronx, temples in Queens and churches and synagogues in Manhattan share a commitment to religious liberty with a wide range of faith leaders and elected officials, both locally and nationally.
“Trump’s rollback of the sensitive site policy violates religious liberty by defining direct service as a non-essential to religious practice and by creating a chilling effect for worship in certain faith communities,” she said. “We call on our courts, and our city and state elected officials to stand up for our basic rights and the rule of law.”
Lara Evangelista, executive director, Internationals Network for Public Schools, and a leader of NY-AFFIRMs, said, “Students and families are scared.
“Despite the orders and new policies, students still have a legal right to attend public school,” she said. “In New York City, the lengthy instructions boil down to this: Stop non-local enforcement at the door and call the NYCPS assigned lawyer.
“While fear may make it hard for parents and students to feel comfortable going to school, know this: Schools and educators are prepared to do what is right by their students and what they are legally required to do,” she added.
New York State Assemblywoman Monique Chandler-Waterman, the daughter of Jamaican and Barbadian immigrants, noted that New York City “has always been highlighted as a melting pot called to serve all New Yorkers.
“Unfortunately, the current overreach of enforcement policies that we have witnessed in this nation and throughout this state, over the past few days, have had no consideration for the broader impact of these oppressive measures on our Black and Brown Caribbean communities,” said the representative for the 58th Assembly District in Brooklyn, who, on Wednesday, stood with her colleagues on the state and local level demanding that New York City Mayor Eric Adams and his administration rescind ICE cooperation guidance that has been recently sent to the New York City Health and Hospitals network.
“This measure puts them in a compromising position, moving them away from focusing away from healthcare needs,” added Chandler-Waterman, pledging to continue to working with her district’s taskforce “to host more legal immigrant clinics with my colleagues and ensure that our communities are aware of their rights.”
On Thursday, a memo from City Hall said that municipal workers at migrant shelters, schools and hospitals can permit ICE to enter city property if they feel “threatened” by agents.
“We do not want city workers getting into physical altercations in any way with any nonlocal law enforcement officer,” Camille Joseph Varlack, a deputy mayor and the mayor’s chief of staff,” told the New York Times.
But Brooklyn lawmakers on Thursday urged City Hall to rescind recently-shared guidance on NYC Health + Hospitals’ cooperation with federal immigration authorities, and to instead clarify that all New Yorkers should feel comfortable seeking care at public hospitals, regardless of their immigration status.
New York State Sen. Zellnor Y. Myrie, representative for the 20th Senate District in Brooklyn, hosted the press conference outside Kings County Hospital in central Brooklyn.
He was joined by Haitian-born Council Member Rita Joseph; New York State Assembly Member Phara Souffrant, the daughter of Haitian immigrants; and Chandler-Waterman.
“Growing up in this community, my parents often brought me to Kings County for asthma treatment— even before they were citizens,” said Myrie, whose grandmother hailed from Jamaica. “Without this care, I might not be alive today.
“The recent guidance from City Hall could intimidate people in this community and prevent them from seeking lifesaving care,” he added. “Our public hospitals must remain safe places for every New Yorker, regardless of their immigration status.”
