14 Arrested At LES Protest Against Trump Immigration Policy

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — More than a dozen demonstrators were arrested Monday night at a Lower East Side protest against a new Trump administration proposal that would make it significantly harder for immigrants to come to the U.S. or remain in the country if they use or are likely to receive certain types of government assistance.

Organizers with the New York Immigrant Coalition rallied dozens outside of the Tenement Museum, which tells the stories of immigrants who settled in the Lower East Side, to decry the proposed changes that would embolden the government to deny visas or residency to immigrants if they or a member of their household benefit from subsidies such as Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Section 8 housing vouchers.

The Trump administration plans to officially propose the regulation in the coming weeks, which would trigger a 60-day public comment period. Local immigration advocates want those living in New York City — which has a population of 3.3 million foreign-born immigrants — to be armed with information to weigh in on the regulation.

“The depth and breath of this rule and the damage that it would do to immigrant families in New York and across the country is something we really need to shed light on,” said Max Hadler, the senior manager of health policy with the New York Immigrant Coalition.

“It’s a public health issue, it’s a human rights issue and it’s so wide spread in its inclusion of Medicaid, SNAP benefits, housing vouchers."

Hadler was among the 14 protestors hauled off to the 7th Precinct for blocking traffic, said police.

Dozens of protestors gathered on Orchard and Delancey streets waving signs scrawled with “Support Their Rise Not Their Demise,” "The Children Will Suffer," and “Making Moms Choose Between Dinner & Detention Is Unamerican."

Immigration advocates and elected officials addressed the crowd as protestors chanted, "No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here." More than a dozen demonstrators linked arms and sprawled across Delancey Street and halted traffic on the thoroughfare, spurring the string of arrests.

The proposal is in its infancy, but some immigrants fearing government retribution have already come to the New York Immigrant Coalition and have sought help to return SNAP coupons and be removed from SNAP and other public assistance programs, noted Hadler.

"People are already preemptively disenrolling in benefits," said Hadler. “We need to be as clear as possible about who this does and doesn’t impact because the fear is already making an impact."

Those with questions about how the proposed regulation may impact their legal status can call the state's New American's Hotline at 1-800-566-7636.

Photos courtesy of New York Immigration Coalition