Brooklyn residents are speaking out against the city’s decision to open a 400-bed all-male shelter for undocumented immigrants just steps away from a K-12 school. The shelter, which was announced in April 2024, is located within a thousand feet of City Life Academy, a private, classical Christian school.
Irina Edelstein, a mother of three who immigrated to the United States, said she was blindsided by the announcement. She had chosen to send her children to City Life Academy after becoming disillusioned with the public school system during the COVID-19 pandemic. Edelstein said she was not given any transparency about the shelter’s opening, and was only informed of the plan through a two-month notice.
City Life Academy’s principal, Jeffrey Reed, was also caught off guard by the announcement. He said he was not given any forewarning about the shelter’s opening, and was only informed of the plan through the same two-month notice. Reed expressed concerns about the safety of the school’s students, and said that the shelter’s opening was a “child endangerment” situation.
Edelstein said that parents were told at a meeting that there was nothing they could do to stop the shelter from opening. She expressed concerns about the potential risks posed by the shelter, saying that “it only takes one person to do something stupid for everybody to regret this decision.”
Reed said that some of the undocumented immigrants who have visited his church have told him that there are “bad players” staying in the shelters. He also expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and protocols surrounding the shelter’s opening.
Edelstein said that she has heard reports of undocumented immigrants trying to open car doors and stealing valuables from parents picking up their children. She expressed concerns about the safety of the community, and said that the shelter’s opening was an “invasion” rather than a legitimate immigration process.
Reed said that the school has ramped up its security measures, including having “Dad Days” where fathers stand watch outside the school. He also expressed concerns about the need for strong borders and walls to maintain public safety.
Edelstein concluded by saying that while she is not against immigration, she believes that there is a difference between immigration and invasion. She expressed concerns about the potential risks posed by the shelter, and said that the city’s decision to open it was a mistake.
