Tipsheet

NYC Councilwoman Has One Question for Foreign Nationals Complaining About Free Services

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  April 18, 2024 12:15 PM

After listening to complaints from a group of foreign nationals about the free services they’re being provided in the Big Apple, New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, a Republican, wondered if they came to the United States “thinking the streets are paved with gold.”   

“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 we don’t have the resources that you need to get what you need,” she said during Tuesday’s hearing focused on “the Black migrant experience in the city.” 

"But I have to ask you: What motivated you to come here thinking the streets are paved with gold? They're not. They're absolutely not and you're living through that."

During portions of the hearing shared on social media, the foreign nationals from African nations complained about the free food and housing.

“At the shelter, the food, my kids cannot eat the food at the shelter,” said one woman. “They give us two months to stay at the shelter and then you have to go out again with your luggages and your kids and find another place. It’s very difficult.”

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Sharing a longer clip of her remarks during the hearing, Paladino emphasized that while their testimony 'pained' her, the city is at a breaking point. 

I sat on the New York City Council Committee on Hospitals jointly with the Committee on Immigration to discuss the experience of black migrants in New York City. 

It truly pains me to hear the experiences these people are going through, I am extremely sympathetic to their plight. However, we must think logically about the situation the city is currently in. We simply cannot continue to house and care for anybody who comes here illegally; NYC does not have the resources. 

What’s even more shocking is the response to the lack of resources and funding available to service illegal immigrants. The response given to my questions was to “govern the budget for what our values and morals are supposed to be.” The values and morals spoken of must not include public safety, since one of the ways suggested to free up funding was to cut the budgets of law enforcement. This city so reaching a tipping point and if things do not change, we are in for a far more dangerous and lawless city than what we’ve even experienced yet.