New York City Assemblywoman Jaime Williams (D) called for an investigation to be conducted after expensive and unregistered vehicles were towed from a migrant shelter.
Williams recorded a video posted to Facebook in which several unregistered vehicles were towed from a migrant encampment at Floyd Bennett Field.
The Assemblywoman told the New York Post (NYP) that she was astonished to find the pricey cars belonged to migrants who had been “begging for food and money.”
“Why are we continuing to put up with [t]his lawlessness? This has to be investigated at all levels. It’s an abuse of taxpayer dollars,” Williams told the outlet.
“How did migrants get access to these cars? They are not run-of-the-mill cars. These were new vehicles,” Williams added.
Among the vehicles that were towed were, two Toyota Sequoia SUVs and a Toyota Sienna with Florida dealership plates. The vehicles that were towed had been illegally parked on grass belonging to parkland.
In the video uploaded to Facebook, a migrant can be seen pleading to be allowed access to one of the vehicles being towed and showing that he had a title to the car.
“And, I have home owners struggling to pay their mortgage. Tenants struggling to pay their rent,” Williams said in her video.
In September 2023, the New York City government “entered into a lease agreement with the federal government” regarding the usage of the Floyd Bennett Field to house migrants, according to a press release from New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D). The migrant encampment is run by the city and funded by the state.
“First of all, this is unprecedented,” Williams said in her video. “This is a migrant camp here at Floyd Bennett Field and there’s no need for these cars to be here. What are we doing? What are we doing?”
Williams represents the neighborhoods of Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Mill Basin, Marine Park, Bergen Beach, and Gerrittsen Beach in Assembly District 59, according to her website.
In an interview with Fox News, Williams cast blame on the Biden Administration for turning “a blind eye” to the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked if she had gotten any answers surrounding the vehicles, Williams told the outlet that she had not but would attempt to get answers.
IJR reached out to Williams for a statement but did not receive a response by the time of publication.