Just saying.
The Adam’s Administration & City Hall recently announced that asylum seekers crossing into the United States will be distributed a yellow flyer encouraging them to reconsider a decision to settle in New York City for shelter and support services.
While this letter is possibly a first step in decreasing the numbers of migrants entering New York City, the best way to prevent this type of influx is for the Mayor to take legislative or executive action to rescind NYC’s sanctuary city status. The evidence is clear: New York City cannot maintain the status quo, or quite frankly, even a fraction of it.
The migrant crisis perpetuated by President Biden’s refusal to secure our southern border has been greatly exacerbated by New York City’s self-proclaimed designation as a sanctuary city, which occurred in 2014 under a law passed by the City Council and signed by your predecessor.
New York City has assisted over 90,000 migrants since the beginning of 2022 while neglecting our own vulnerable communities such as the homeless, veterans, the elderly, students, and the mentally ill just to name a few. The total cost of this philanthropy is expected to cost New York City taxpayers $4.2 billion or more by mid-2024.
Taxpayers should not be expected to bear this cost any further especially considering the never-ending increase of prices of necessities such as housing, infrastructure, transportation, medical treatment, food, social services, etc. It becomes more evident daily that New York families are struggling to afford their own bills or maintain their own home, let alone pay the bills of others.
The President of the United States has abdicated on his duty to protect our sovereignty; however, Mayor Adams now has the opportunity to lead on behalf of millions of fed up New Yorkers. I strongly urge him to rescind New York City’s sanctuary status immediately as the financial burden has become too impossible to sustain.
Banner Image: Southern Border. Image Credit – Barbara Zandoval
Assemlymember Sam Pirozzolo
Sam Pirozzolo is a native Staten Islander. He is a frequent contributor to the Staten Islander, and is well-known and loved by people on both the Right and Left, in his North Shore community. Sam brings people together, instead of dividing, by speaking common sense and analyzing our island's, and city's, issues, with intelligence and concern for all. Sam Pirozzolo was elected to the New York State Assembly on November 8, 2022. The 63rd Assembly District represents parts of Richmond County. Sam has successfully operated his family’s optical practice for 33 years. He is the past president of Community Education Council 31 where he served for seven years. Some of his most notable accomplishments include the creation of a Gifted and Talented program for middle school students, the recommendation for the NYC Department of Education to hire retired police officers as school resource officers, and the successful fight for the immediate cleanup of toxic PCBs leaking from the light fixtures in school classrooms. As an education advocate, Sam has participated in historic litigation that led to the return of more than $4 billion to New York public schools. He also fought to ensure that co-located charter schools receive the same capital funding as their host public schools. While serving in the Legislature, Sam will work to support law enforcement officers with proper funding, fix broken bail and parole policies, and help small businesses grow and thrive in a stronger, more resilient economy.