{"id":2667,"date":"2024-12-24T08:49:27","date_gmt":"2024-12-24T13:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/multi.nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2024-12-24T08:51:55","modified_gmt":"2024-12-24T13:51:55","slug":"asylum-seekers-in-clinton-hill-shelter-face-uncertainty-amid-new-deportation-fears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/asylum-seekers-in-clinton-hill-shelter-face-uncertainty-amid-new-deportation-fears\/","title":{"rendered":"Asylum Seekers in Clinton Hill Shelter Face Uncertainty Amid New Deportation Fears"},"content":{"rendered":"

By: Owen Lavine<\/p>\n

Saleozi Rojom came to the United States from Senegal a year ago, seeking asylum. Between English classes and studying for his Occupational Safety and Health Administration certification test, Rojom, a former carpenter, spends his day among the thousands of asylum seekers at a shelter in Clinton Hill waiting for immigration papers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I have my papers, I can try to find a job,\u201d Rojom said.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old believes he is among the latest arrivals who are \u201cdoing nothing wrong\u201d and is consequentially not scared of president-elect Donald\u00a0Trump’s calls for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, or New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ desire<\/a>\u00a0to deport criminal migrants.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’m not scared of Trump,\u201d Rojom\u00a0said. \u201cIf you check my case I’m clean… but if you’re coming here, you breaking the law, you’re robbing, you’re assaulting, nah, its not good bro.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite Rojom’s sense of security, immigration advocates are preparing for the worst by organizing workshops to help asylum seekers protect themselves at “Know Your Rights” events.<\/p>\n

Jesus Casado, the director of community programming\u00a0at the New York Immigration Coalition<\/a>, said he was very skeptical that Trump’s plans would be limited to immigrants with criminal convictions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would just be cautious [about] these\u00a0umbrella statements [that]\u00a0only criminals should be worried,\u201d Casado said. \u201cI think his approach has been all immigrants are criminals for some reason, that’s like a definition he has put forward and that’s very dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

NYIC has been preparing for the incoming Trump administration by connecting migrants to resources by hosting a number of \u201cKey to the City\u201d events where immigrants can receive free legal aid, food\u00a0and other relevant information.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we’re trying to fight back is by providing resources on ‘Know Your Rights’ information for those who have arrived in recent years, that may not know what they have access to in terms of like legal representation,\u201d Casado said.<\/p>\n

The group has also pushed for legislation that protects immigrants at the federal level, including calling on President Joe Biden and Congress to\u00a0protect and defend<\/a> immigrants from across the country, regardless of immigration status. The fear is that families with one undocumented parent would be deported, separating children from their parents.<\/p>\n

Approximately\u00a05.5 million U.S. citizen children<\/a>\u00a0(including\u00a0254,00 New York children<\/a>) live with at least one undocumented family member. Separating family members would not only cause tremendous stress, but lead to economic hardship for many mixed-status families who might lose their breadwinners, the group said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur advocacy work is very, very important to make sure that we’re pushing for legislation that\u00a0is supporting our immigrant communities,\u201d Casado added.<\/p>\n

Legal experts, including Jodi Ziesemer, the co-director of the Immigrant Protection Unit at the New York Legal Assistance Group<\/a>,\u00a0are also worried.<\/p>\n

While Trump’s policy has yet to have been fleshed out, Ziesemer said the past is their best reference for what to expect. \u201cIt’s difficult…. especially [for the] people who did this work and the first Trump administration,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

She was particularly concerned\u00a0about how U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be deployed throughout the city.<\/p>\n

Ziesemer\u00a0said\u00a0that\u00a0ICE \u201cwas much more aggressive about both arresting people and enforcement,\u201d during Trump’s first term,\u00a0when an ICE officer fatally shot<\/a> a man who attempted to intervene during\u00a0a deportation operation in Gravesend\u00a0in 2020. Zeisemer said ICE raids of workplaces, homes and businesses were also more frequent.<\/p>\n

After meeting Adams earlier this month, incoming border czar Tom Homan said<\/a> he discussed placing ICE agents at Rikers Island and police precincts.<\/p>\n

Legal aid organizations are\u00a0ramping up their efforts to help migrants become naturalized by helping them fill out their paper work at the\u00a0“Key to the City” events.\u00a0\u00a0“We’re ready to fight,” Zeisemer said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"nyic3\"
Asylum seekers wait outside the 47 Hall Street asylum shelter in Clinton Hill on Dec. 9, 2024. Photo: Owen Lavine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meanwhile, asylum seekers expressed concerns about being deported, though not to the extent that advocates fear<\/p>\n

Ben, who lives at the Clinton Hill migrant shelter and asked not to include his last name or country of origin, said he was not scared. In fact, past presidents\u00a0also deported many asylum seekers, Ben said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is another story, Barack Obama too, deported too\u00a0many\u00a0people,\u00a0more than Trump and Biden [deported people] too,\u201d said Medi, a 29-year-old father and asylum seeker. \u00a0\u201cIt’s the same. It’s not about, this is like a racist Trump or something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

On a recent cold day outside of the migrant shelter, Medi sounded upbeat, noting the U.S. is the “land of dreams” as you can choose what you want to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be good citizens, not a gangster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Owen Lavine Saleozi Rojom came to the United States from Senegal a year ago, seeking asylum. Between English classes and studying for his Occupational Safety and Health Administration certification […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5888,"featured_media":2669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,62,5,65],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-city-council","category-immigration","category-national","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAsylum Seekers in Clinton Hill Shelter Face Uncertainty Amid New Deportation Fears - NYC Political News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nycnewsnetwork.com\/nycpolitics\/asylum-seekers-in-clinton-hill-shelter-face-uncertainty-amid-new-deportation-fears\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Asylum Seekers in Clinton Hill Shelter Face Uncertainty Amid New Deportation Fears\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By: Owen Lavine Saleozi Rojom came to the United States from Senegal a year ago, seeking asylum. 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