WATCH: NY City Council Speaker Responds To Trump's 'Dangerous' Sanctuary City Order

NEW YORK, NY — New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito held a live-streamed press conference Wednesday in which she responded with visible disdain in Spanish and English to President Donald Trump's newest executive orders on immigration, saying that the president's actions are very "dangerous" and "making this country very vulnerable."

"This is really a scary time," Mark-Viverito said. The speaker added that New York City has to be prepared to stand up to Trump's "irresponsible policy."

NYC could lose up to $8.8 billion this year in federal funding, due to its status as one of 300-plus "sanctuary cities" across America where local officials refuse to hand over undocumented immigrants to the feds, under an executive order signed Wednesday by Trump.

Mark-Viverito called on anyone who fears for their immigration status to work with city-approved agencies. "We want to encourage people to go to legal providers that we work with that are known and have a good reputation for advice," Mark-Viverito said. "There are gonna be those that are gonna try to pray on the fear that exists and try to take money away from people."

Watch the speaker's press conference here:

Lead photo by oreilly_news_1/Wikimedia Commons/CC by 3.0