Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) did not directly answer a question when asked about the closure of a New York City school in order to house migrants. Her tentative answer came after former President Donald Trump condemned the closure of James Madison High School.
The representative was asked about the closure of the Brooklyn school by a reporter. She responded that it was “not in my district.”
She then said, “it’s very clear here that what’s most important is that we identify a facility that’s appropriate for these folks.”
“I don’t anticipate this being a long-term solution, it shouldn’t be a long-term solution,”
The school closed its in-person classes to make way for migrants who were staying in tents at a former airfield. The students were given remote classes and an anticipated winter event was canceled.
The closure brought almost 2,000 migrants from Floyd Bennett Field to the campus.
The closures affected about 3,700 students after the school was closed on Tuesday. The migrants were then sent back to the airfield on Wednesday morning.
The decision brought significant protests by parents, who shouted at the migrants as they arrived at the site. There was also considerable criticism from Republicans within and outside New York City.
BREAKING: Not only did James Madison High School cancel in person classes today to make room for illegals, they also postponed indefinitely the highly anticipated annual Winter Wonderland Event which was supposed to take place today.
Illegals are given first priority over our… pic.twitter.com/PzWMvf2FXV
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 10, 2024
During a Fox News forum this week, the former president cited the “millions and millions” of migrants in the United States, calling it “not sustainable.” He then mentioned the closure of the school and “putting migrants in their place?” During the event, the former president promised “the largest deportation effort in the history of our country.”
He also pledged to bring “everybody back to where they came from.” The former president criticized the policies of the Biden administration, which he said created “chaos at the border.”
More than 150,000 migrants have entered New York City since 2022, sparking budget cuts and emergency shelters across the city. The migrant crisis parallels similar struggles in other major cities such as Chicago.
