Sunset Parkers Want Community Board Active on Immigrant Rights

SUNSET PARK, BROOKLYN — The immigration committee of Community Board 7, representing both Sunset Park and Windsor Terrace, wants the board on the side of the community's immigrant families.

Edward Cerna, a Sunset Park resident who chairs the committee, said the approximately 15 attendees at a committee meeting last Saturday discussed a "climate of fear and anxiety" impacting immigrants following the election of Donald Trump as president.

Cerna said attendees expressed concern with reports of students being verbally harassed at Sunset Park schools over their family's immigration status, as previously reported to the city's Department of Education (DOE) by Sunset Park Councilman Carlos Menchaca.

"There is a very real fear that parents are hesitant to say what's going on," Cerna said, explaining that moms and dads don't want to bring further negative attention to their children.

And the chair said communities at risk provide openings for fraudsters looking to capitalize on fear. For example, Cerna said that some immigrants might fall victim to public notaries pretending to be attorneys.

While the resolution's final language is still being worked out, Cerna said it will likely call for the DOE to provide emergency counselors to students who need it, and ask the city to provide adequate legal support for its immigrants.

The resolution will also likely express a zero tolerance policy toward prejudice within the board's reach, he said.

Cerna added that the document, which will be presented at the board's next general meeting, could serve as a model for other community boards around Brooklyn.

Top image courtesy of Beatrice Murch on Flickr