Candidates working for NYC Mayor highlighted their plans for immigration coverage and its proposed results on these communities on April 16 in the course of the hybrid discussion board hosted by the CUNY College of Labor and City Research (CUNY SLU), which was co-sponsored by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).
The discussion board was held from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. The Democratic candidates in attendance had been NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, NYS Senator Zellnor Myrie (twentieth District), Zohran Mamdani, and Michael Blake. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, former NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Senator Jessica Ramos (thirteenth District), Whitney Tilson, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and Unbiased candidate Jim Walden didn’t present up.
The candidates first mentioned how they’d consider the present state of the town’s sanctuary legal guidelines given the Trump administration’s nature and whether or not they would make any adjustments to them.
Former NYS Meeting Member Michael Blake (79th District), who’s the son of Jamaican immigrants, mentioned, “ICE has no enterprise right here, whether or not it’s at Rikers, whether or not our locations of worship, whether or not we’ve colleges. We’re a sanctuary metropolis; we’ll proceed to be a sanctuary metropolis. We’ll be sure that our communities are protected in each doable approach. All of us are intertwined at this second.”
Blake added that the adjustments he’d make to the present sanctuary legal guidelines would come with rising authorized protections for the 180,000 immigrants who don’t constantly have them and ensuring that each time Donald Trump and the federal authorities come for them, the State is critical in its assaults in opposition to the administration.
The candidates additionally mentioned the Metropolis Council invoice Native Legislation 18 of 2021, which might be reintroduced on April 24 as T2025-3413, which might require supply staff to have e-bike licenses, and whether or not they’d help it.
Council Speaker Adams responded, “Our focus once more must be on the livelihood of those that try to make a dwelling, and that’s the place the center of my work is. I at all times say I legislate the best way that I stay. If I can’t characterize my neighbor, then I don’t know what my neighbor goes by way of, struggling by way of, or coping with.”
She added that her focus as mayor might be on guaranteeing that immigrants who’ve come and people who will come to New York have a wide range of job alternatives accessible, regardless of President Trump’s efforts to make it difficult for these dwelling within the state working onerous to make a dwelling.
As well as, the candidates additionally shared what they’d do to guard immigrant staff in New York Metropolis from wage theft. Comptroller Lander shared that the Comptroller’s workplace has been engaged on this, saying that the workplace has recovered over $9 million for staff, principally immigrants, who had their wages stolen.
“We created an employer violations dashboard for the primary time that tracks metropolis, state, and federal office violations. So, you’ll be able to join the dots as a result of it’s usually the identical employer who has carried out wage theft, that has additionally had an unfair labor observe, that additionally violated OSHA tips, that additionally denied their employee paid sick days,” Lander defined.
Lander additionally proposes creating the first-ever Mayor’s Workplace of Staff Rights. If he turns into mayor, he mentioned he would set up an workplace that might do exactly this: discover the patterns, add enforcement capability, and join the dots relating to immigrant employee safety from wage theft.
State Senator Myrie additionally shared his help for preventing in opposition to this subject, highlighting that he has supported laws that might improve the penalties for wage theft.
“I feel that’s one thing that I might proceed to advocate for as the subsequent mayor. We now have a Supreme Courtroom in the US that’s hostile to labor rights, that’s hostile to the NLRB, and it’s going to be extra necessary than ever that we’ve a strong Division of Client and Employee Safety,” Myrie acknowledged.
Myrie strongly believes that New York Metropolis might be a frontrunner for the remainder of the nation in defending weak staff in the course of the Trump administration.
“I feel we’ve to do extra Know Your Rights outreach to make sure that folks know that the Metropolis has their again, and with the regulation division, I feel we’ve a chance to be using each authorized instrument at our disposal to make sure that we’re defending ourselves, increasing our Fee on Human Rights, guaranteeing that folks have the protections that they want,” he continued.
To remain up to date on future CUNY SLU occasions, folks can join its publication here. These also can help CUNY SLU by following the varsity on its social media platforms, which may be discovered on their web site: https://slu.cuny.edu/.
