Mayoral candidates discuss Immigration Policy during local forum

Candidates running for NYC Mayor highlighted their plans for immigration policy and its proposed effects on these communities on April 16 during the hybrid forum hosted by the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (CUNY SLU), which was co-sponsored by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC).

The forum was held from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. The Democratic candidates in attendance were NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, NYS Senator Zellnor Myrie (20th District), Zohran Mamdani, and Michael Blake. NYC Mayor Eric Adams, former NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo, NYS Senator Jessica Ramos (13th District), Whitney Tilson, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, and Independent candidate Jim Walden did not show up.

The candidates first discussed how they would evaluate the current state of the city’s sanctuary laws given the Trump administration’s nature and whether they would make any changes to them.

Former NYS Assembly Member Michael Blake (79th District), who is the son of Jamaican immigrants,  said, “ICE has no business here, whether it be at Rikers, whether our places of worship, whether we have schools. We are a sanctuary city; we will continue to be a sanctuary city. We will make sure that our communities are protected in every possible way. All of us are intertwined at this moment.”

Blake added that the changes he’d make to the current sanctuary laws would include increasing legal protections for the 180,000 immigrants who don’t consistently have them and making sure that every time Donald Trump and the federal government come for them, the State is serious in its attacks against the administration.

The candidates also discussed the City Council bill Local Law 18 of 2021, which will be reintroduced on April 24 as T2025-3413, which would require delivery workers to have e-bike licenses, and whether they’d support it.

Council Speaker Adams responded, “Our focus again has to be on the livelihood of those who are trying to make a living, and that is where the heart of my work is. I always say I legislate the way that I live. If I can’t represent my neighbor, then I don’t know what my neighbor is going through, suffering through, or dealing with.”

She added that her focus as mayor will be on ensuring that immigrants who have come and those who will come to New York have a variety of job opportunities available, despite President Trump’s efforts to make it challenging for those living in the state working hard to make a living.

In addition, the candidates also shared what they would do to protect immigrant workers in New York City from wage theft. Comptroller Lander shared that the Comptroller’s office has been working on this, saying that the office has recovered over $9 million for workers, mostly immigrants, who had their wages stolen.

“We created an employer violations dashboard for the first time that tracks city, state, and federal workplace violations. So, you can connect the dots because it’s often the same employer who has done wage theft, that has also had an unfair labor practice, that also violated OSHA guidelines, that also denied their worker paid sick days,” Lander explained.

Lander also proposes creating the first-ever Mayor’s Office of Workers Rights. If he becomes mayor, he said he would establish an office that would do precisely this: find the patterns, add enforcement capacity, and connect the dots regarding immigrant worker protection from wage theft.

State Senator Myrie also shared his support for fighting against this issue, highlighting that he has supported legislation that would increase the penalties for wage theft.

“I think that is something that I would continue to advocate for as the next mayor. We have a Supreme Court in the United States that is hostile to labor rights, that is hostile to the NLRB, and it’s going to be more important than ever that we have a robust Department of Consumer and Worker Protection,” Myrie stated.

Myrie strongly believes that New York City will be a leader for the rest of the country in protecting vulnerable workers during the Trump administration.

“I think we have to do more Know Your Rights outreach to ensure that people know that the City has their back, and with the law department, I think we have an opportunity to be utilizing every legal tool at our disposal to ensure that we’re protecting ourselves, expanding our Commission on Human Rights, ensuring that people have the protections that they need,” he continued.

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