Hundreds of New Yorkers took to the streets on Sunday outside a former Staten Island nursing home to protest its proposed transformation into a migrant shelter.
Midland Beach's former Island Shores Senior Residences is under consideration to house illegal immigrants as New York City is inundated with migrants flooding over the border, according to a report.
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"Don't call them immigrants. Call them 'illegals,'" said one protester, identified as 66-year-old Ray Thaisz, 66. "I don't mind people coming here, but they’re coming here illegally, and then we have to support them."
The illegal immigrants would be a blight on the neighborhood, 64-year-old Claire O'Toole said.
Arrested with others today for Civil disobedience, trying to protect seniors from being unjustly evicted into streets to make way for migrants. We will not stop until justice is served. #NYC pic.twitter.com/fLCsBhgoxr
— Curtis Sliwa (@CurtisSliwa) August 20, 2023
"I have four grandchildren," she said. "I don't want this by my house. Why would I want that worry? They want to put 800 men here, but we have no idea who they are, period. Are they rapists? Are they murderers? Are they vaccinated? Do they speak English?"
The protest outside Island Shores was put together by former mayoral candidate and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
Sliwa took part in the protest and was one of the people taken into custody for blocking traffic, according to the report.
"Arrests at the location are expected," Sliwa said prior to the protest.
"When I finish, we are gonna block this street," he said to the crowd. "You line up behind me ... and the others who know what civil disobedience is. Let's await the instructions of the cops."
He added, "We occupy this facility and dare them to arrest [us]. ... We don’t want illegal aliens."
The notion of transforming the 288-bed residence into a facility for migrants arose last year, the report noted.
Island Shores has since closed its doors.
Finding housing for the thousands of illegal immigrants coming into the city remains a challenge for Democratic Mayor Eric Adams.
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"As we have repeatedly said, with more than 100,000 asylum seekers asking for care since the spring of 2022, New York City has been left largely alone to respond with a national humanitarian crisis," a statement from his office said.
"We have already stood up more than 200 emergency sites and run out of space every day," the statement added. "We have looked at more than 3,000 sites, and, given the magnitude of this emergency, every option remains on the table. We continue to call on our federal and state partners to provide us with the help we desperately need."