The massive arrival of immigrants to New York, and their accommodation in school gyms, after exceeding the capacity of hotels and shelters in the Big Apple, has caused numerous students to be forced into taking their classes online. This is the case of James Madison High School, which has been forced to suspend in-person lessons after the transfer of some 2,000 migrants to its facilities.
First group of migrants from Floyd Bennett field arrive at James Madison High School. Madison is a scan school where students get scanned upon entrance, but the migrants got to bypass that as per the NYPD. A lot of law enforcement and other agency resources have been poured into… pic.twitter.com/52kWetWRxA
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) January 9, 2024
Immigrant minors sleeping on the floor and getting up at 4:30 in the morning
This news was confirmed by the New York mayor and minority whip Inna Vernikov through a statement, in which she denounced the events and demanded that the mayor of the city, Eric Adams, stop using schools to relocate immigrants: "I have been informed that due to the incoming storm affecting New York City, around 2,000 migrants from Floyd Bennett field will be transported to James Madison High School this evening and will be occupying its gymnasiums overnight. As an elected official representing this community, I demand a full stop to using our public schools as a shelter ever again"
Vernikov was very critical of the initiative, highlighting that it is an "unacceptable situation for everyone," since the migrants, many of them minors, will have to sleep on the floor and get up at 4:30 in the morning to be transferred to another location. For all these reasons, he demanded that Adams take effective measures and welcome the displaced in his official residence instead of sending them to schools.
This is also bad for the migrants. Migrant children will sleep on the floor in the gym and auditorium and will have to wake up at 4:30 am to leave the high school. #endthemadness
— Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (@InnaVernikov) January 9, 2024
Musk warns: the next thing will be private homes
After learning the facts, the owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), Elon Musk, made a publication in which criticized the management of the crisis by the New York authorities and warned that the next thing will be the relocation of illegal migrants to private homes: "This is what happens when you run out of hotel rooms. Soon, cities will run out of schools to vacate. Then they will come for your houses."
This is what happens when you run out of hotel rooms. Soon, cities will run out of schools to vacate. Then they will come for your homes. https://t.co/MQ159OlOXc
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 9, 2024
