Lady Zela Rosa of La Colmena testifies on Staten Island ICE activity
Lady Zela Rosa of La Colmena describes ICE enforcement on Staten Island days after a Mexican Independence Day parade and says staff witnessed an officer threatening a child. She calls for concrete investment in trusted community-based organizations to receive reports and connect people to services.
Good afternoon, Sharon Carnation.
My name is Lady Zela Rosa, and I'm the advocacy coordinator at La Colmena, where I'm a nonprofit community-based organization working with day laborers, domestic workers, and other low-wage immigrant workers in Staten Island
through organizing education, culture, and equitable economic development.
On September 13, on Port Richmond Avenue in Staten Island, we celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a colorful and vibrant parade.
And just a few days later, ICE enforcement activity took place on those same streets, terrorizing members of our community.
Our staff was there, and they witnessed a nice officer threatening a child.
These are not stories that we hear from the news.
As local organizations, we are learning about these incidents directly from the people in our community who are experiencing them.
This is why community-based organizations are so important in New York City.
Organizations like La Colmena play a critical role in building trust, educating workers about their rights, and connecting community members with appropriate legal, mental health, and other support services.
We are very receiving calls from community members about what they're experiencing and what they should do when they encounter immigration enforcement.
While strengthening NYPD protocols is an important step forward, we also have to recognize the reality on the ground.
Some immigrant workers and families may feel safer reaching out to a trusted community organization than directly to a government agency.
This is why the city must make concrete investments in communities.
community-based organizations that are very trusted by immigrant communities.
We could receive and document reports, connect people with legal assistance and other services, and follow up with community members and help ensure that incidents do not go unaddressed.
Executive Order 13 order was an important step towards strengthening New York City's sanctuary protections, but protections on paper are not enough.
Those protections must be understandable, accessible, and meaningful in practice.
City protections only work if people know about them, trust them, and feel safe enough to use them.
Thank you for your continuous commitment to the people of New York City and for allowing me to testify.