The immigrant community showed up over a thousand strong during a May Day rally in Foley Square recently, hailing from large Hispanic neighborhoods in Queens such as Jackson Heights, Elmhurst and Corona. Their cause, as they marched in large groups, was loud and clear: to demand protection for immigrant workers from deportation and exploitation.
“Immigrant labor empowers our cities, our states, our country,” said Nisha Tabassum, the Workplace Justice Lead Organizer with Queens-based organization Make The Road New York (MRTNY). “It creates strong and really vibrant communities. In fact, immigrants provide more than $100 billion in taxes to local, state, and federal governments.”
It is certain that many industries in New York City, such as construction workers, food couriers, street vendors and taxi drivers, thrive behind a large immigrant population. Through her experience advocating for many of these workers’ rights, Tabassum understands that immigrants are “terrified” to show up to their jobs.
She doesn’t agree that people must live in constant fear, especially when they are trying to make an “honest living.”
“It’s not right,” said Tabassum. “And what we’re seeing from our members is that they are on the front lines of these threats. Someone getting a traffic ticket from local police while they are at work can result in workers being separated from their families by immigration enforcement.”
MTRNY holds New York rights workshops to ensure that its members are aware of these rights. Some of these rights include the need for a warrant for ICE to enter a facility. Members are also taught the different kinds of documents that law enforcement may present and how to distinguish an actual warrant from a “piece of paper.”
“People are being detained and arrested,” said Tabassum. “At any hour of the day or night. They’re getting thrown into unmarked lands by masked agents. They’re getting locked away in detention facilities. They’ve disappeared from their communities. Which is why we are trying to push for the New York For All Act, along with other advocates in New York State. To fight against this.”
It is essential to keep the immigrant community informed on these rights, as Tabassum states that legal attorneys at MTRNY have worked on cases where ICE has presented improper forms of a warrant. They have also received word through other state organizations that ICE has used different reasons to “get you to open up.”
“We need to see our elected officials stand up for immigrant workers who have to work every day. And we need to pass the New York For All Act now.”
The New York for All Act remains one of the organization’s top legislative priorities, aiming to provide crucial protections that help immigrant workers feel safer on the job. Organizers with MTRNY regularly advocate in Albany, urging elected officials to prioritize the bill and emphasizing that immigrant labor is the backbone of the city and state’s economy.
Tabassum states they continue to fight for the passage of the bill and that we have a “moral obligation” to protect immigrant workers from President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
“Immigrant workers power our economy,” said Tabassum. “Whether they are deliveristas, construction workers or street vendors. It’s really time that our laws reflect that reality and include them in the protection that they need.”
For more information on immigrant rights and resources, visit maketheroadny.org/we-protect-us.
