Anger and frustration boiled over as Democratic politicians gathered outside City Hall on Monday, lambasting Joe Biden for being “asleep at the wheel” concerning the escalating migrant crisis, which has led to illegal aliens sleeping on city sidewalks.
The rally comes after the White House’s recent announcement of its plan to assign just a single staff member to coordinate the federal response with City Hall—a move that local officials have derided as grossly inadequate, the New York Post reported.
This scant assistance comes after Mayor Eric Adams and other high-ranking officials repeatedly sought billions of dollars in urgent aid and a more expedient system to grant work permits to newly arrived illegal immigrants over the past year.
New York Mayor Eric Adams on illegal immigrants:
“We have no more room in this city…and we need help.”
“Sanctuary cities” feeling the pinch 😂#Immigration#NewYorkCity pic.twitter.com/e1YewdH6a7
— rico (@ricosuave14) July 23, 2023
As the number of new arrivals in New York City rises, officials are planning to house as many as 1,000 illegal aliens in the parking lot of a mental hospital.
Hundreds of illegal aliens are now sleeping outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan.
“It’s not going to get any better. From this moment on, it’s downhill. There is no more room,” Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday.
New York enjoying their sanctuary city status.
93,000 immigrants have arrived in NYC since the spring.
Roosevelt hotel, monday morning. pic.twitter.com/9xLJj4uQcW
— Raymond (@Raymond82310289) August 1, 2023
City Councilman Robert Holden of Queens criticized PresidJoent Biden for being oblivious to the issue.
“The president’s asleep at the wheel on this one, folks, and I’m a Democrat,” he said.
Drawing parallels to former President Gerald Ford’s infamous refusal to assist New York in the 1970s, Holden said, “Where is the Biden administration?” adding, “This has been going on for years. Have we heard a plan?”
More from New York Post:
Brooklyn’s lefty borough president, Antonio Reynoso, appeared to decry the White House response, too.
“These other states don’t want them? We’ll take them happily,” Reynoso said of migrants. “But with that responsibility, we need partners in the federal government to say, ‘We’re going to help you solve the problems that exist because of the migrant crisis in New York City.’
“All we’re asking is for the federal government to finally show up.”
The rally’s organizer — state Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar (D-Queens), a close ally of Mayor Eric Adams — led the charge.
“This is one of the most significant humanitarian crises our city has ever faced, and we cannot face it alone,” she said. “Our city needs help from the White House.”
