New York City Sees Complaints, Demands from African Illegal Aliens
On April 16, New York City Hall was surrounded by large crowds of African illegal immigrants. Up to 1,300 of them descended on City Hall where a hearing was being held on the experience of Africans in the city’s shelter system. The crowd was reportedly so large due to a rumor that attendance would be rewarded with a green card. The majority of the crowd (mostly military-aged single men) congregated outside, but several hundred migrants were able to get inside city hall and some gave their testimony. A full video can be seen here.
The migrants were not shy in making complaints and demanding more from the city. Speakers rose to complain about the lack of translation services. One speaker noted that over 500 languages are spoken in her country of origin, and there was no translation support in New York City for them. She did not touch upon how much this would cost the city. Another speaker complained that the food served in shelters was not good enough, and that during Ramadan they should be entitled to better-quality food. One other speaker complained that even if New York City did find translation for obscure tribal languages, many migrants are illiterate even in their own language and so would need voice clips to be sent to migrants “to explain what their rights are.”
One woman from the Congo openly accused the city of racism. She said “This is a shameful time in New York historic [sic]. It is anti-African and xenophobic” before switching to French and saying “This city is not at all welcoming for the Africans. It is racist and xenophobic and one has to say it.” After denouncing the city council members, whom she blamed for the predicament, she then said “I want all my fellow Africans to know what will happen if they come in [sic] New York City.”
None of this behavior has done the image of migrants any good. Americans are perfectly within their rights to expect that newcomers enter legally and show gratitude. Rather than thanking America and New York City for weeks of free food and accommodation, the migrants seemed to have nothing but scorn for their hosts. While many working New Yorkers struggle to make ends meet in this expensive metro area, migrants who are housed and fed for free seem entitled to this treatment and demand even more.
Attacking your hosts and calling them racists and xenophobes even as they pay for your every need is not the way Americans expect new arrivals to behave. In the 1984 movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, there is a cold exchange over dinner where an Indian official scolds Indiana Jones for his comments about the country he is visiting, saying, “Doctor Jones, in our country it’s not usual for a guest to insult his host.” This is precisely the tone that the migrant spokespeople were using.
The only voice of objection to the insults and complaints from the migrants seemed to be Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, who said, “In listening to everybody speak and making demands on New York City to do more! More! More! How much more are we supposed to do? How much more are we capable of doing? This system is so overworked and overburdened…But I have to ask you, what motivated you to come here?” As she mentioned the chaos at the border and the fact these crossings were illegal, she was cut off by the chair.
Until the border can be secured, this crisis and these complaints will continue. America does not exist solely to provide whoever wants to come, in unlimited numbers, with their every need for free. As many American cities and suburbs struggle under the burden of unending migration of illegal aliens, many of them a net economic drain on the taxpayer, the problems will only get worse.