New York City is rolling out the red carpet for school-aged illegal aliens under a new program replete with taxpayer-funded benefits not afforded to American families — including school-related vaccine exemptions for some children.
On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams (D) announced his “Open Arms” program, which is being billed as a comprehensive plan to help “families seeking asylum.” Specifically, it targets children and families preparing for the upcoming school year and comes weeks after Adams complained that states like Texas were sending busloads of illegal aliens to his city without warning.
According to the program, migrant students will receive backpacks full of supplies, mental health counseling, and enrollment assistance as they choose which schools to attend. These families will also have access to shelters and lodging, and the city will prioritize school bus “routing for all students in temporary housing.” The city also says it will coordinate with its Department of Youth & Community Development “to prioritize after-school enrollment for students/ families impacted communities.”
Under the “Vaccinations” section, the plan stated that the government will “link these families to [Federally Qualified Health Clinics] and health centers not just for immunizations but also for on-going pediatric care.”
The city advised families, “As a reminder, students in temporary housing are excluded from immunization requirements as part of their right to immediate enrollment.”
OPEN ARMS Families Seeking Asylum: Comprehensive Support Plan
Yet if you are an American child and your parents own or rent, a different set of standards apply.
NYC’s Department of Education website states that students in grades kindergarten through 12th must be fully vaccinated against various diseases.
While New York City does not have a COVID-19 immunization requirement for students to attend class, the city does mandate the vaccine for a range of after-school activities.
“A COVID-19 vaccination requirement also applies to students participating in high-risk after school extracurricular activities like chorus, musical theater, dance/dance team, band/orchestra (with concern for woodwinds), marching band, cheerleading/step teams/flag team,” the city warned. “Students ages five and up must be vaccinated in order to participate in these extracurricular activities.”
According to the NYC DOE, families who do not vaccinate their children as required aren’t even allowed to send them to school.
“Vaccines prevent your child from getting infections in school and from spreading diseases to other children,” the city stated on its website. “For this reason, your child will not be allowed to go to school if they have not received the required vaccines for the school year.”
There are limited medical exemptions and zero religious exemptions for non-illegal alien students.
In other words, New York City is now a city of haves- and have-nots.
If you are the head of a family who came to America illegally, declared asylum, and were transported on a bus to New York City as you supposedly await your asylum hearing in a taxpayer-provided hotel room — then you can expect your children will have the necessary school supplies, therapy, medical care, food, and more given to them. You will even get a prioritized bus route, so your child does not have to walk through the slums of Gotham amidst rising crime. You can also forget about vaccinating your six-year-olds — it is your right, according to the NYC government.
If you are an American, you have none of that.
Under the Democratic mayor — you can kick rocks, foot the bill for Open Arms, and expect the problem of illegal immigration to impact every block of the city.
Only in America!
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.