'Sanctuary District' Declared in Sunset Park

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — State Sen. Jesse Hamilton and a diverse group of religious leaders gathered Wednesday to declare the creation of a "Sanctuary District," one that will defend immigrants threatened by the Trump administration's policies.

Hamilton's district includes Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Gowanus, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Park Slope and Sunset Park.

The event took place at the Crown Heights headquarters of the Nigerian-American Muslim Integrated Community, and featured Jewish, Christian and Muslim participants from a variety of nations.

The concept of a "sanctuary city" or "sanctuary district" does not carry legal weight, referring instead to a policy whereby a particular government entity — for example, New York City — won't arrest or otherwise penalize residents for being undocumented.

Hamilton's "sanctuary district" refers in part to the emotional support offered by united communities of faith. Rabbi Andy Bachman, for example, said that, "The argument that was used against" Jews fleeing persecution decades ago "is the exact same argument that used against refugees today."

"This is nothing new," he said, adding that such mentalities must be fought.

But Hamilton also said he wants to offer vetted support to immigrants needing legal assistance, rather than asking them to find help on their own.

Residents can call a telephone hotline recently set up by the Immigrant Defense Coalition, a collection of activist groups working in conjunction with the state's Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). The IDC is itself a politically controversial group of Democratic State Senators in Albany who serve as a linkage between the body's partisan factions. (Hamilton is a Conference member.)

Those calling the Coalition's hotline, reachable by dialing 800-213-6385, can record their information. They will subsequently be called back and connected with an immigration specialist from one of the Coalition's participating organizations, Hamilton said. (As of Thursday, the service was only available in English, though Hamilton said he aims to add languages to it.)

According to Hamilton's office, the list of organizations involved in the Coalition includes the Vera Institute for Justice, the Northern Manhattan Immigration Coalition, the New York Immigration Coalition, The Black Institute, Brooklyn Legal Services, Urban Justice Center’s Domestic Violence Project, Caribbean Women's Health, CAMBA Legal Services, American Friends Services Committee, MFY Legal Services and Central American Legal Assistance.

Hamilton also said he's opening his office to immigrant specialists who can meet directly with constituents. Such meetings can be set up by appointment, according to spokesman Ean Fullerton. Hamilton's office can also refer those needing help to participating Coalition organizations, Fullerton said. Hamilton's office can be reached directly by calling 718-284-4700.

Those at Wednesday's event said the White House's approach to immigration policy has psychologically rattled their communities.

"Most of what we read in the media is not true: Muslims are not terrorists, and terrorists are not Muslim," said Ade Oluwo, who heads the Nigerian-American Muslim Integrated Community.

"People are fearful," Oluwo said of his fellow community members. While Nigerians were not banned from entering the United States under President Donald Trump's recent executive order, Oluwo said many feel that, "it will just be a matter of time before other Islamic countries are impacted."

"We came here for the American dream," Oluwo said. "We believe in American values."

"I see our community, they are so alarmed, and always talking about what is going on," said Imam Zakaria Mahmud, who leads worshipers at a Bergen Street mosque. Mahmud said many of his congregants are construction workers from Bangladesh.

"They just work and come back, very innocent and peaceful people," he said.

Both leaders said they're unaware of any local change in law enforcement activity, but added that hadn't prevented concerns from growing.

On Wednesday, Hamilton did call for one policy change to help ease the minds of those in the city without documentation: the NYPD should decrease its arrests for so-called "quality of life" offenses, he said, like turnstile jumping. Activists groups, like El Grito de Sunset Park, have highlighted such arrests — which statistics show primarily involve non-white residents — as the route by which undocumented residents become known to federal authorities, even in so-called sanctuary cities like New York.

"It's clearly not a sanctuary for people of color," Hamilton said of NYC.

Pictured at top: Hamilton and community leaders on Wednesday. Photos by John V. Santore.