Attack on Asylum Seeker in New York Sparks Outrage Over Conditions
Gloria Oladipo and Ramon Antonio Vargas Guardian UK
A man holds a welcome sign at New York City’s Port Authority bus terminal before migrants arrive from Texas on 17 August. (photo: Jeenah Moon/Reuters)
Incident occurred amid growing tension as Republican states bus thousands of asylum seekers to Democratic cities
Meiver Martinez, 21, an asylum seeker from Venezuela, was struck in the face early Wednesday by a city Department of Homeless Services (DHS) officer at the Brooklyn-based Atlantic Armory shelter.
The incident was caught on camera and the officer, who has not been named, was later suspended.
"Dont hit me" he says.
— The Looted Futures Generation (@PeoplesHistory) September 7, 2022
Emergency presser 2 PM mens shelter at Atlantic/Bedford. Live on instagram on either South Bronx Mutual Aid or NYCICEwatch's account.
Conferencia de Prensa 2 PM esquina de Atlantic/Bedford. En vivo en Instagram en las cuentas mencionados arriba. pic.twitter.com/lE9BXFntRv
Martinez was also allegedly struck with batons after other officers became involved, according to Martinez, and eyewitnesses. He was taken by ambulance to an area hospital to be treated for his injuries, according to a hospital report.
The physical aggression towards Martinez occurred amid growing tension over thousands of asylum seekers being bussed from some Republican-held states, acting unilaterally, to Democratic-led cities, without any liaison.
After reaching and crossing the US-Mexico border this summer, Martinez had been put on a bus to New York by the Texas authorities, he recounted via an advocate briefing the Guardian, while awaiting the outcome of his attempt to claim asylum.
New York City was among the first to welcome such migrants, with mayor Eric Adams condemning opposition by the Texas Republican governor, Greg Abbott, to providing more options locally.
But the city has struggled to provide adequate, suitable resources. Many have been forced to rely on the already-overcrowded shelter system.
On Thursday, the Washington DC mayor, Muriel Bowser, announced a state of public emergency over migrants who are also being bussed to that city from Texas and Arizona. The week before, 75 such migrants arrived to Chicago.
On Wednesday afternoon, Martinez told the Guardian the incident began after he returned around 6am to the Brooklyn shelter from working a night shift cleaning a school.
While trying to catch up on some sleep, Martinez said an officer on site began jabbing him in the back, apparently prompting him to leave his shelter bed in advance of the 8am checkout.
“When he does that, I get up and tell him he can’t do that, that he’s an official and can’t be hitting us,” said Martinez. “If he wants me to get up, tell me to, but he can’t [do more than that].”
Video of the incident taken by bystanders also shows the officer swearing at Martinez several times, in English, at one point yelling: “Put on your clothes and get the fuck out.”
In response, Martinez becomes angry and repeatedly yells “don’t hit me”, in Spanish, at the officer, gesticulates and kicks a nearby locker. Then, the officer is seen punching Martinez across the face or head.
Martinez speaks little English and also used his native Spanish to talk to advocates, who interpreted for reporters, with the Guardian independently checking the translation of these interviews.
A shelter worker is seen rushing to separate the officer from the resident. Then additional officers were called to the shelter, allegedly pinning down Martinez, hitting him with batons, and tasing him several times. This according to Martinez and several others who witnessed the officers’ behavior towards him, with more bystander video, viewed by the Guardian, appearing to capture some of that subsequent violence.
Eye witnesses also described officers on the scene trying to force them out of the room and take away phones, they told the Guardian.
“They wanted to take my phone, and they wanted me to erase the video … I wouldn’t give them the phone, and they were, like, not letting me go,” said Luis, 21, who was in the room during the incident and spoke via an informal interpreter, and also asked for his last name to be withheld.
Later video footage shared with the Guardian shows Martinez on a gurney, handcuffed behind his back and semi-conscious, being taken to a waiting ambulance.
Martinez later showed the Guardian his injuries, with bruises visible on his abdomen and arm.
The officer who initially hit Martinez was suspended, the New York Times reported.
DHS did not reply to several requests for comment on the officer’s suspension.
The agency also did not comment on accusations that officers attempted to block recording by other residents, and other aspects of the incident.
Ariadna Phillips, from the community group South Bronx Mutual Aid, said: “Every New Yorker should have safe, affordable, permanent housing. Our shelter system is broken.”
Yohandy Echeverria, 27, another Venezuelan who was also in the room during the incident, called the interaction with officers “an abuse of authority”.
“They have a lot of advantage over us,” Echeverria said of shelter authorities.
Several asylum seekers at the Brooklyn shelter told the Guardian on Wednesday, without disclosing their names, that they often wait up to several hours for a limited supply of shelter beds, and accused some staff of routinely yelling at them.
“We don’t really have any choice but to take it,” said Echeverria.
Finding work is difficult, they recounted, as many migrants lack the necessary paperwork to secure jobs.
Often sad and depressed, Echeverria said it’s hard to find enough to eat most days, adding that he’s lost weight since his arrival in the US.
“It’s a very sad situation obviously because many of us fled very difficult, violent situations even to get here,” he said.
He added: “Many of us had to spend days in the jungle, on trains that are dangerous. To flee all of that and to be here in a situation where we’re being treated in this way, is very upsetting. Very surprising.”
