NYC School Debacle Is About Politicians Who Don’t Care About Their Citizens

January 25, 2024

By William Davis

Just when you thought New York City couldn’t sink any lower, its public officials are now commandeering schools to shelter illegal aliens.  

Earlier this month, students at James Madison High School in Brooklyn were forced to go remote so that thousands of illegal aliens could by moved to the school’s gymnasium. Given the studies we’ve seen about the effects remote schooling has on children, we know that remote school is not a real substitute for in-person learning, therefore children in Brooklyn were deprived of learning opportunities in order to make room for illegal aliens. This is perhaps the grossest example yet of how illegal immigration deprives Americans of vital resources, but it has also been telegraphed for months.

New York Mayor Eric Adams attempted to commandeer 20 school gyms to house illegal aliens last year, but backed off the plan following outrage from parents. Now, as New York runs out of room to care for these aliens, the city’s children are paying an inevitable price. All of this is unnecessary, and all of this is the result of politicians who are deliberately neglecting the wellbeing of their citizens in service of an extremist ideology. 

For a long time, New York has touted itself as a “sanctuary city” for illegal aliens, brazenly flouting federal law, but they’ve never had to pay a real price for their lawlessness until recently. Texas’ illegal alien bussing program, initiated by Gov. Greg Abbott, has forced New York to reckon with its sanctuary policies, and demonstrated that despite all their bluster, the city is incapable of putting its money where its mouth is on this issue. The illegal immigration crisis has cost the city and state billions of dollars, hemorrhaged social services, degraded the quality of life for New Yorkers, and is now keeping kids out of the classroom. 

Instead of admitting that their sanctuary policies have been a colossal failure, New York politicians have responded by suing transportation companies, and pointing their fingers everywhere but inwards. This begs the question. : If the tremendous costs New York has paid in recent years does not lead to a re-evaluation of the city’s sanctuary policies, is there anything that will? Unfortunately for residents of the Big Apple, the answer is probably not. So, where is this headed? What happens next?

It would have been unthinkable just a few years ago to kick children out of the classroom in order to make room for illegal aliens. That this is happening now demonstrates that there is nothing elected officials in New York won’t sacrifice at the altar of its anti-border policies. 

The logical next step in this madness will likely involve politicians asking citizens to take illegal aliens into their homes. The groundwork for this idea has already been laid. Adams floated the idea last year of housing illegal aliens in private residences, saying that these residences have “spare rooms,” that could be used to house the aliens. Adams even said he would house illegal aliens at his residence in Gracie Mansion, before reneging on that pledge. 

Before last Thanksgiving, an anti-borders advocacy group asked Massachusetts residences to consider bringing illegal aliens into their homes ahead of the holidays. Earlier this month, Massachusetts Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll asked state residents with an “extra room or suite in your home,” to consider welcoming illegal aliens after a state of emergency was declared in the Commonwealth. 

Given the many millions of illegal aliens who have penetrated U.S. borders since the Biden Administration took office, these requests could soon turn into demands. The nation is being overwhelmed by a historic influx of illegal aliens, and even the country’s biggest cities are running out of room. 

While it would be constitutionally dubious to require private citizens to take illegal aliens into their homes, this does not mean that ideologues and opportunistic politicians won’t do everything they can to wreak havoc on the lives of ordinary Americans before agreeing to re-evaluate their sacred cow of illegal immigration. Ultimately, the illegal immigration crisis is the predictable result of an endless cycle of abuse perpetuated by politicians against their own citizenry. At the end of the day, every citizen of every nation deserves a government that prioritizes their interests over anybody else’s. This is the essence of the social contract citizens enter into with their government. But, in the U.S., the social contract has been shredded by politicians who are willing to upend our private lives, and our children’s education in order to import large numbers of foreign nationals who they believe will be more dependent on them, and more willing to vote for them.

No matter how many billions of dollars illegal immigration costs taxpayers, no matter how much it continues to disrupt the lives of American citizens, U.S. political elites keep courting more of it. Anti-borders politicians and activists have made clear that nothing is off limits if it furthers their goals, not even your homes or your kids ‘education.

William J. Davis is a communications associate for the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of mass migration.

Also published at Townhall, January 25, 2024.