New York City is suffering an “immigration crisis” according to city officials. What is now happening in the Big Apple is the same crisis that has been impacting on southern border cities for years. The only difference is that those communities on the border are pure victims of immigrations policies – or more accurately, non-policies – of others. New York is suffering from their own politics and policies.
When it was only those poor mostly minority folks along the Texas border, Democrats in Washington and New York were contemptuous of their concerns. Open borders were acceptable – perhaps even desired – by the elitist Democrats. They fought against securing the border and building barricades. And they still are. They promoted efforts to defund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They voted for an increasing array of benefits as humanitarian aid when they were really enticements to illegally cross the border. AND … they created sanctuaries wherever they governed to insulate illegal aliens against prosecution.
Now the proverbial roosters have come to roost in the Democrats’ own stronghold of New York City – and the City leaders are not happy. That is not entirely new. You will recall the reaction when just a couple dozen migrants landed in the progressive playground of Martha’s Vineyard. They welcomed them with open arms but booted them out of town in a matter of days. If we did not already have the political cliché of “not in my backyard (NIMBY)”, we would have had to coin it to describe the hypocrisy of the folks in Martha’s Vineyard.
You may also recall how former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was so proud to have his community a sanctuary city. How he theoretically embraced the illegal aliens as legitimate migrants “yearning to be free.” Of course, that was when very few of the illegal border crossers were landing in the Big Apple. Nevertheless, New York is now living with the de Blasio legacy.
New York City is screaming foul. The flock of migrants coming over the border has metastasized throughout the country. Sheltering facilities are being overwhelmed. Migrants are sleeping – and toileting — on the streets of Manhattan. Crime is rising – including drug-related crimes. These crimes are going unprosecuted by “progressive” District Attorneys. The lines of migrants residing on the pavement are blocking access to small businesses.
City leaders are now embracing language that they criticized in the past. They are pushing back on Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas’ claim that the borders are not open. They are using the once forbidden word “crisis” to describe the impact of the Biden administration’s policies. New York Mayor Eric Adams has joined the chorus of those demanding that the border be secured. He is complaining about the lack of action by President Biden.
In response to Adam’s call for help from Washington (🡨 That means more money), the Biden administering has assigned a liaison – a person to whom they can complain. But a person who cannot do much more than listen.
Democrat City Council member Bob Holden goes even further than Adams. He called the liaison response a “kick in the head” – and accused Biden of essentially telling New York City to “drop dead.” (He was reprising 1975 New York Daily News headline “Ford to City: Drop Dead – when President Ford refused to bail out New York from near bankruptcy.)
One can sympathize with the people of New York City in their time of crisis – but not quite as much as we may sympathize with those folks along the southern border. The people of New York City voted for irresponsible feel-good policies of the progressive left. Now they are paying the price. It is about time.
So, there ‘tis.