An immigrant was stabbed during a fight at a shelter in New York this Wednesday, authorities said, adding that the attacker, also a resident of the place, had been detained.
The 24-year-old victim was wounded in the stomach and neck by an unknown object around 11:30 a.m. ET on the fourth floor of the Lincoln Correctional Facility, which has served as a shelter for thousands of people. seeking asylum in the United States.
Authorities indicated that the injured man was taken by medical relief personnel to Mt. Sinai Hospital and was
in stable condition
.
Immigrants seeking asylum wait in New York, December 4, 2023.Getty Images
The attacker, 27 years old and also an immigrant, was detained at the scene and was not immediately charged, according to authorities.
The event comes a day after New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, called for drastic changes to the city's
sanctuary
policy to allow police to collaborate with immigration authorities, following several incidents involving immigrants.
"I don't think people who are violent in our city and commit repeated crimes should have the privilege of being here," Adams said at a news conference at City Hall on Tuesday.
"You have no right to be in our city and tarnish [the image of] the overwhelming number of people who are here respecting the laws," the mayor commented in a message addressed to immigrants who commit crimes.
The Democratic mayor's statements represent a change in the policy that has been defended for decades, by which local police are prevented from handing over undocumented immigrants to the custody of agents of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE, in Spanish). English).
Adams had already advanced his position at a community event in Brooklyn last Monday where he stated that it was necessary
"
modify the sanctuary city law
and if [an immigrant] commits a serious crime, a violent act, we should be able to turn him over to ICE and deport him."
The New York mayor's words were immediately rejected by The ICE Out NYC Coalition, which brings together community organizations and immigrant advocates, in a press release.
Luba Cortés of Make the Road New York said it is "infuriating" to see Mayor Adams attempt to vilify immigrant communities.
"Reversing New York City's sanctuary laws and working with ICE will only bring harm and pain to our communities," according to NBC News.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at a press conference on Dec. 12, 2023, in New York. Associated Press
Murad Awawdeh, director of the New York Immigration Coalition, considered that "this latest attack by the Adams Administration against immigrant communities and families is also [an attack] on the very character of the city."
For its part, the New York City Council has recalled that any change in the city's ability to collaborate with federal immigration authorities requires the approval of the City Council, which on Wednesday said that "it
has no plans to review these laws"
.
[We witness a deportation in the border city that Biden will visit. "Don't take the risk," ICE tells migrants]
During a conference on February 8, Adrienne Adams, spokesperson for the New York City Council, rejected the rhetoric of city and state officials, who have advocated for a reversal of
sanctuary city
policies , after the arrest of seven immigrants in the Times Square attack against two New York police officers.
"These bipartisan city policies have no bearing on this incident," the spokeswoman said at the time.
"City law does not interfere with the criminal legal process or any federal immigration law. I can assure you that the Mayor of New York has no power to change the United States Constitution."
Some Republican city representatives have spoken out in favor of Adams' proposed change to
sanctuary city
policies .
In a message on the social network
Similarly, Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Queens said she supports Adams' view that ICE should be able to work with law enforcement to
deport immigrants accused of crimes
before they have been convicted.
With information from
Daily News
,
New York Post
,
NBC News
and EFE