A New York City high school received hate calls and a bomb threat amid the extreme backlash against officials for allowing migrants to be temporarily housed there overnight, according to several reports.
Nearly 2,000 thousand migrants were transported via bus to James Madison High School in Brooklyn from Floyd Bennett Field shelter on Tuesday evening due to high winds from a storm, CBS News reported. The families were placed in the school’s gym until just after 4 a.m. the next day.
However, students attended class remotely on Wednesday, which left many parents frustrated and some to protest against the decision.
“This is not acceptable on so many levels,” Tatyana Learner, who attended the protest, told PIX11. “We are worried about the health of the children, education of our kids. This is the future of our country. “If it’s one time, it’s bad enough, but will this be happening in the future?”
The questions come in the midst of concerns around the migrant shelter location, which is an airfield near the shore of Jamaica Bay. Mayor Eric Adams said the families were relocated “out of an abundance of caution to ensure the well-being of those entrusted to our care.”
Other critics wondered why the asylum seekers were urgently pulled out of the school when the students were at home and how much funding went into the process.
“I’m sympathetic to migrants, to have no idea why they removed during the night. Those people have kids — 4:15 in the morning?” Assemblyman Michael Novakhov asked, per CBS News. “School is closed anyways. They could’ve stayed here until 6 or 7 a.m.”
The city said that James Madison High School would not be used for migrants in the future, especially after the threats that officials deemed “deplorable.” According to Chalkbeat, the school was cleaned and inspected before students arrived for classes on Thursday. Some parents were stunned at the overwhelming adverse reaction to the one-night stay.
“I understand the frustration. No one wants their kids to be displaced out of their school, but it was just one day,” parent Marsha Thompson-Miles told the outlet. “For one night, people didn’t have to deal with rain and wind and the elements. They felt safe and warm.”
Adams has come under fire for how he has been handling the migrant crisis since more than 100,000 have entered the Big Apple since 2022. The mayor was criticized when he announced budget cuts for the NYPD and FDNY last year but decided to reverse the decision on Wednesday.
