A number of protesters interrupted an event held by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), often referred to by her initials AOC. The protest reflects wider concern within New York City about how it will handle the more than 100,000 migrants who have arrived since last year.
During a press event Friday, protesters shouted demands to “Close the border!”
Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the New York event with other members of the city’s congressional delegation.
“Ultimately, I think there are three points of consensus here that are very important in getting a solution to this issue,” she said.
The representative requested “increasing federal resources to cities and municipalities dealing with this issue.”
BREAKING: @RepJerryNadler, @AOC and other democratic congress members' press conference in New York over illegal immigration turns chaotic with people shouting "close the freaking border" and pro-immigrant groups shouting back, saying everyone in the US came from another… pic.twitter.com/DNpEAoO9id
— Simon Ateba (@simonateba) September 15, 2023
She also asked that the federal government allow the migrants work authorizations “so that the folks in here can get to work and start supporting themselves as soon as possible.”
She said that the migrants not being able to work is “part of the strain on our public systems.”
As Ocasio-Cortez spoke, the protesters became louder.
New York has been an epicenter of migrant arrivals since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The city’s leaders have said that they are running out of space and resources to handle the significant influx.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) recently stated that the migrant issue “will destroy” the city.
He said, “we’re getting people from all over the globe have made their minds up that they’re going to come through the southern part of the border and come into New York City.”
“It’s going to come to your neighborhoods. All of us are going to be impacted by this,” said the mayor.
In addition, the mayor cited an estimated $12 billion price tag to care for the migrants over the next several years.
The protest at Ocasio-Cortez’s event is not the first held in the city recently. One protest took place in Staten Island against a plan to house migrants in the borough. Former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa has been arrested several times during these protests.
