During the second mayoral debate on June 2, New York City Democratic mayoral candidates vowed to solidify the city’s status as a sanctuary city for illegal aliens. Every single one of the eight candidates wants to go from being a ‘sanctuary city’ for illegal aliens to a city that actively promotes illegal aliens as more valuable residents than law-abiding immigrants and U.S. citizens.
One of the candidates and former Citigroup executive, Ray McGuire said, “We’re a sanctuary city, this is about respect, it’s about dignity, it’s about support, it’s about those who have allowed the city — and sacrificed for this city — to be where it is as we managed through COVID.”
This statement is overwhelmingly flawed. Many officials on the left perpetuate the myth that sanctuary cities make America safer because illegal aliens will become more likely to report crimes if they face no risk of deportation. This myth has been thoroughly debunked and there is no proof of a causal relationship between the two.
In reality, sanctuary jurisdictions protect criminals and endanger the lives of Americans. Sanctuary cities terminate 287(g) programs – agreements between local and federal authorities to grant local law enforcement permission to detain illegal aliens in their jails until handing them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. As a result, criminal illegal aliens are released back into the interior of the United States, where they often go on to commit additional crimes.
According to 2020 data, the state of New York is home to more than one million illegal aliens. And according to the 2019 American Community Survey, the Big Apple has a foreign-born population of 36.4 percent.
What started as sanctuary for immigration law violators is now becoming sanctuary for just about all law violators. New York City’s crime rate rose 30.4 percent in April 2021 compared to April 2020. The city saw a 66 percent increase in grand larceny and a 35.6 percent increase in felony assault. District Attorneys are not prosecuting “quality of life” crimes, and the state has adopted no bail policies, even for violent criminals.
As immigration enforcement continues to get thrown to the wayside, the record number of illegal aliens crossing into the United States due to the Biden border crisis are likely to flood cities which promote sanctuary policies. As if the utter disregard for the rule of law wasn’t incentive enough, the state of New York created a COVID relief fund in April which would give illegal aliens and ex-convicts checks totaling more than $20,000 each.
In cities like New York, illegal aliens are being given priority and placed on a pedestal above law-abiding American citizens. Democratic open borders advocates are sending quite an obvious message to foreign nationals seeking entry into the United States and tax-paying Americans alike – Americans last, illegal aliens first.