At a hearing this Wednesday of the House Committee on Homeland Security, panel member Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) confronted past rhetoric from a GOP-aligned witness appearing before the committee. This individual, Joseph Borelli of the New York City Council, has spoken in general terms against some of the developments recently seen amid continuing migration into the United States. Some of these individuals have ended up in Borelli’s city — which is also the focal point for Goldman’s district.
Goldman compared comments from Borelli to racist complaints from the 19th century about certain European immigrants to the United States — NYC in particular! “And you have been fearmongering on this issue, as have my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, about the ‘criminals’ coming across the border,” Goldman said. “But you are aware, are you not Mr. Borelli, that the amount of crime from the migrants who have arrived in New York City is far lower than the average crime rate in the city, correct?”
“I’m unaware of it, but I’ll assume since you’re saying it in public, it’s true,” Borelli defensively replied.
“We must welcome immigrants that are fleeing horrific conditions in their countries, in Central and South America,” Goldman continued. “And I applaud the Biden administration for announcing a reinvestment into those countries to stabilize them and improve their economies.” These investments, it’s long been argued, can help lessen the urgency behind many migrating individuals attempting to head to the United States at all.
Goldman, who also pushed for policy changes like increasing the number of judges handling immigration cases and more efficient access to work authorization for these migrating individuals, ultimately argued that certain forces on the Republican side were actually interested in facilitating problems in the handling of the southern border so they could use these expanding issues for their attempted benefit. Check out the hearing below:
