NEW YORK (TIP): Front running mayoral candidate Eric Adams, on June 3, unveiled his “WeRISE” agenda to raise immigrant safety and empowerment,  at a town hall for ethnic and community media. The Indian Panorama editor Prof. Indrajit S Saluja was one of the attendees. Adams noted that New York City is “not only home to the United Nations; we are the home of people from every nation.” A 2015-19 estimate from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that 36.8 percent of this city’s residents — more than one out of every three — is foreign-born, living across the five boroughs.

“My Administration will lift up immigrants as high as Lady Liberty lifts her torch in our harbor, as a beacon of hope for all who come to our shores,” said Eric Adams. “Too many of our neighbors live in the shadows, scarred by the abusive rhetoric and tactics of the Trump era and fearing a denial of their rights. The intimidating complexity of our City bureaucracy is compounded by the challenges that immigrants with limited English proficiency face in navigating everything from education to housing to healthcare. In addition to building on our existing efforts to increase civic engagement to new levels and foster the leadership of voices from every community, we will ensure that together WeRISE.”

Adams announced that he would launch a $50 million annual Immigrant Venture Fund for small businesses started by first- and second-generation New Yorkers, with a special weight toward businesses that support the immigrant community. According to a 2018 report from the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), 52 percent of the city’s businesses are immigrant-owned. To pay for this Venture Fund, his administration would divert funds from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC)’s budget that are historically allocated for discretionary tax benefits and tax-exempt financing for major companies seeking City support.

Regarding immigrant safety, Adams declared that he would direct all city agencies to make their services accessible without putting immigrants at risk of law enforcement action, expand already existing legal services, and severely restrict cooperation between the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — including ensuring that ICE is removed from all City buildings and facilities — until there is major federal reform, including the use of body cameras by all ICE agents. He also reaffirmed that he would combat hate crime with a zero-tolerance policy, including attacks targeting immigrant communities.

Noting that more than 150 different languages are spoken in the city, Adams said he would direct the NYPD to prioritize language justice for victims to make it easier to safely report, as well as work in partnership with district attorneys to ensure that they have the resources they need to swiftly identify, apprehend, and prosecute those who prey on innocent New Yorkers through these cowardly acts. Additionally, his administration would take a more robust approach with the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes that includes rapid graffiti removal, support for expanded anti-hate curriculums in our public schools, and innovative cross-cultural dialogue initiatives like his “Breaking Bread, Building Bonds” program at Brooklyn Borough Hall that brings together everyday people each from all various ethnicities, identities, and faiths around a dinner and conversation.

Adams’ “WeRISE” agenda also includes:

• Boosting funding for NYC Cares to expand outreach to immigrant communities and enroll them in the City’s health plans for which they are already eligible;
• Creating one-stop-shop health centers in underserved communities, sited in NYCHA complexes and open storefronts that are accessible to any New Yorker — no matter their legal status in the U.S., as well as pairing safety-net hospitals with wealthier ones to share cost burdens;
• Prioritizing language justice, and funding it, with qualified City translators and stipend-based fellows expand language access for City services and resources.
• Enhancing the IDNYC program with extraordinary security to protect users, an improved MyCity platform that provides direct connection to social services through a single portal, and mandating access to this program for any person leaving Rikers Island and needing proof of identity.
• Using our leverage as a client to create a fairer economy for immigrants, rewarding businesses that hire local workers and benefit minority and female owners and workers — especially on City-financed projects.
• Hiring a Chief Diversity Officer to drive change on equity for minorities and women, and also create a tool to track the share of M/WBE contracts and how much the City is spending on those companies versus others in real-time.
• Bolstering City legal services battling discrimination in the workplace, such as cases of wage theft and unjust denial of Section 8 vouchers, as well as any other forms of harassment based on immigration status.
• Instituting a robust program for culturally aware professional development of educators.
• Opening a new Mayor’s Office of Community and Ethnic Media, to expand the resources they need to continue bringing vital information to New Yorkers.

“Eric is a proven champion for immigrants in our city,” said Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. “He knows that when they rise, we all rise. The focus that he will bring to empowering immigrants and keeping them safe, as shown in this plan, shows how committed he is to making the American Dream a citywide reality.”

“New York City has always been a beacon of opportunity for immigrants to live, grow, and thrive,” said Council Member Adrienne Adams. “We continue to welcome, with open arms, those who want to create better lives for themselves and their families. I am proud to endorse Eric Adams’ immigrant empowerment plan, which will further help, protect, and support immigrants in New York City. We must continue to address the issues facing our immigrant communities to ensure that their voices are heard, and that they are safeguarded in all levels of government.”

“Eric Adams’ ‘WeRISE’ plan demonstrates that he totally gets that our greatest asset as New Yorkers is our diversity–but that diversity must be supported and nurtured in order for this City to grow,” said Council Majority Leader Laurie Cumbo. “A lot of candidates are giving lip service to the value of our immigrant community, but few are backing it with a plan that is backed by experience except Eric Adams.”

 “As the first Haitian-American woman and first African-American woman to lead the largest Democratic County in our city, I am proud to support a mayoral candidate in Eric Adams who respects and values all our immigrant communities,” said Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte-Hermelyn. “He sees us and he knows that combating inequality and injustice means lifting all of us up. From empowering our M/WBEs to battling hate crimes, I look forward to working with Eric in City Hall to support our immigrant neighbors.”

“I thank Eric Adams for his strong support of immigrant entrepreneurship and defense of any New Yorker facing discrimination,” said Council Member Peter Koo. “Eric is a true friend to immigrants, and his ‘WeRISE’ plan is the right plan to connect every New Yorker — no matter where they come from or what language they speak — to the City services and resources that will help them succeed.”

“Eric Adams has been assisting individuals and families of immigrant New Yorkers for the past four decades, even in isolated neighborhoods many average New Yorkers didn’t know existed,” said Sheikh Musa Drammeh, head of the National Community Peacebuilding Commission. “His ability to build the largest and most diverse networks of supporters is the result of the investment he has made in building relationships through public service. Every immigrant group thinks they know Eric Adams better than anyone else. Eric Adams is the only public servant that walks into any room anywhere in the city and knows half of them. He will be the most effective political leader to articulate and efficiently provide constituent services for the immigrant communities, because he knows them and their needs and they know him and his leadership.”

“Mr. Adams is a long-standing friend of the Bangladeshi community,” said Shamsul Haque, president of Rise Up New York. “He has visited dozens of Bangladeshi events, mosques, mingled with community leaders, and cultivated friendships. Seeing the recent spike in violent crimes, the Bangladeshi community feels the city is going back to the 1990’s. Mr. Adams’ campaign slogan, ‘public safety is prerequisite to prosperity,’ struck a chord with Bangladeshi New Yorkers. When public safety deteriorates, our families, friends, and neighbors will not be safe. People and businesses will leave the city, which will cause a decline in revenue.”

“Every American should have the opportunity to pursue entrepreneurship,” said Emil Skandul, immigrant rights advocate and entrepreneur. “The defining characteristic of the immigrant experience is the drive to build a better economic foundation for one’s family in this country. For so many immigrants and first-generation Americans, entrepreneurship is their raison d’etre — a chance to control their future by working hard and smart. However, too often traditional networks of fundraising are the limiting factors for ventures. An Immigrant Venture Fund will establish a path toward achieving the American Dream.”