We cannot celebrate Independence Day without recognizing our immigrant history.
For centuries, immigrants have kept New York afloat. Their resilience has defined our city’s character. To be resilient is to be an American and even more so, to be a New Yorker. And it turns out that immigration is just as American as hot dogs and fireworks.
Eight million immigrants passed through Ellis Island in the late 1800s, tripling the city’s Irish population. New Yorkers first feared the Irish immigrants would spread crime and poverty. Instead, they literally built New York City – most notably the Empire State Building. In the 1970s, as New York City was on the verge of bankruptcy while residents flocked to the suburbs, a wave of 800,000 immigrants from all over the world revitalized the economy and kept the city from collapsing.
A new chapter in our immigration story began last year when asylum seekers started arriving in New York City from the Southern border.
New Yorkers responded the only way we know how: by sticking together. When the short-sighted Texas Gov. Abbott put politics ahead of humanity and bused asylum seekers north, New Yorkers volunteered, donated clothes and opened up their homes.
It was an emotional moment every time a new bus pulled into Port Authority – volunteers erupted in applause as people got in line to get much-needed food, water and medical care. We made sure that these folks were given a New York welcome and for possibly the first time on their unspeakably hard journeys, they were embraced with open arms.
This Fourth of July, we are lucky to celebrate our country with 100,000 new neighbors in New York City who came from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Senegal and so many other places. For many, it will be their first time celebrating this country’s Independence Day, when we reflect on our shared American principles: hard work, perseverance and acceptance.
As the fireworks light up the sky, take a look around and notice all the different faces that make New York the greatest city on Earth. You will see people whose families come from every corner of the world, doing every type of job out there and creating the most vibrant culture imaginable. We all gather and celebrate on holidays. We get together in our parks and streets every day. We ride the subways together. We live as one city with an infinite collection of immigrant backgrounds.
New York’s most celebrated neighborhoods – from Arthur Avenue to Jackson Heights – are shaped by the immigrants who live and work there. Being able to grab a cannoli for dessert on Mulberry Street after soup dumplings for dinner on Mott Street may seem like a simple New York joy, but it is a uniquely American experience created by generations of immigrants who have shaped the identity of our city. Hopefully, by next July 4th, Venezuelan asylum seekers will have established a Little Caracas, where we can get together for a homestyle arepa.
With remote work and an affordability crisis, New Yorkers are leaving for greener (and cheaper) pastures elsewhere. But last year, Manhattan had the biggest gain in population of any American county as immigrants moved in. As the pandemic cleared out the city’s population, immigrants brought it back.
The asylum seekers who have arrived in the past year will continue this trend, and make sure New York stays open for business. Ask any of them, and you will hear that they are looking to work and contribute. The federal government needs to take action to expedite their work authorization, but in the meantime, people’s work permits are starting to come in. They’re finding apartments to live in. They’re navigating the subway. They’re becoming New Yorkers one day at a time.
New York City was built by immigrants. That legacy will never end. But exactly what our future will look like will depend on how our people and government welcome and embrace our new neighbors. If history proves us right, asylum seekers will build upon our shared culture, infrastructure and heart of a future New York. That’s something we should celebrate.
