New City, NY – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Congressman Mike Lawler shed light on local immigration impacts in schools, food pantries, housing, and social services in Rockland.
Rockland County Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Joan Silvestri was also present along with Juan Mena, Sloatsburg Food Pantry Board Member, Anita Dreichler, Rockland Community Against Hunger Coordinator, and Rosie Samudio, Director of WestCop Food Pantry.
“Lifeboats are a great tool to rescue people, but a lifeboat can only rescue so many. If you put too many people into one eventually it’s going to capsize and that’s what is happening here,” said County Executive Ed Day.
Local impacts over the last six months include:
- Food pantries have run out of food
- +1,000 kids enrolled in a local district
- 35% increase in children under foster care
“What we’re asking for is help to help people. That’s all we’re asking for. We need smart people to get together and put the politics aside,” said DSS Commissioner Joan Silvestri. “So people do not live in the shadows. They come out; they’re self-sufficient; that’s what this country was built on.”
Congressman Lawler hopes to secure Federal Funding to assist localities and organizations assisting migrants who are resettling in addition to fixing the “broken immigration system that does not work.”
“We want to fix it so people who want to come here can do so and contribute to our society, economy, and culture as immigrants have and always will,” said Congressman Lawler. “We are a nation of immigrants and as I said before my wife is an immigrant. This is not about being against immigration this is about highlighting the real struggles of this broken system and the challenges the County is facing.”
“It’s happening in our backyard and hurting people in our backyard and that’s the reason why we had this press conference,” said County Executive Ed Day. “It screams out for solutions on the Federal level, and I acknowledge Congressman Lawler for trying to do that, but we need everyone in D.C. Democrats, Republicans to fix this system because it’s not helping people, it’s hurting people.”