New York City’s paradox: first-generation immigrants complain about immigration crisis in the Big Apple

New Yorkers took to the streets to protest the City Council’s decision to convert Sunset Park Recreation Center into a shelter for immigrants.

Imágenes de inmigrantes hacinados en las inmediaciones del hotel Roosevelt en Nueva York el pasado 1 de agosto de 2023. — (Cordon Press)

Published by

Rosana Rábago Sainz

7 de agosto, 2023

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New York is going through some difficult times. It's no secret that some 90,000 undocumented immigrants have arrived to the city since last spring and that some 5,000 are currently receiving help from the city in the form of shelter and services. That's not sitting well with those migrants who first arrived to the city and now live in neighborhoods like Brooklyn.

They began protesting on Sunday when they learned that the City Council h decided to move several male migrants to the Sunset Park Recreation Center. It was the straw that broke the camel's back because, according to them, that facility is a staple in the community. Now, they are frustrated that they can’t use the space. Chen, a first-generation migrant from China, told The New York Post how she and the rest of her neighbors felt:

People are really upset from the community. All the people use this facility from this community. So right now you take away all the benefit to us and give it to them? What the hell!

Migrant protests in New York City

She is one of approximately 300 local residents who protested outside the Sunset Park Recreation Center. Paul Rodriguez, a Dyker Heights resident, also spoke to the New York Post. He is upset with the decision since he and his family used the facility regularly:

Most of the people in this community are immigrants themselves or the children or grandchildren. Keep in mind that many of the people who are protesting in particular now are people who probably had a much longer, much [more] arduous journey here than any of the ones who are coming now. Let’s be honest. Now that they’re here, you have to do better than just simply deflecting blame, pointing fingers and saying, ‘It’s all the fault of Washington, and they better fix it for us because we have no more room.’

The neighbors have also decided to start collecting signatures. The idea is to take them to Mayor Eric Adams and other New York officials in the hopes of recovering these facilities that, they say, are used not only by first-generation migrants but also by several elderly people who enjoy the swimming pool and the other facilities in the building. Vincent Lu said that "many seniors" in the neighborhood regularly come to the Sunset Park Recreation Center:

All of a sudden they’ve been denied access. We collected 100 signatures to show the government that a decision like this that impacts the community, the community should be part of that. This is already an overcrowded community. They can’t just do this. And it’s a low-income community, and they put this burden on our community.