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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Aliyam, Youth Leader from Make the Road New York
9:29:10
ยท
3 min
Aliyam, a youth leader from Make the Road New York and a senior at an international high school in Queens, testified about the need for increased investment in education and support services for students, particularly immigrant students, while calling for a reduction in school policing. The speaker emphasized the negative impact of school police presence on student well-being and advocated for more resources for restorative justice and mental health support.
- Highlighted personal experience as an immigrant student and the challenges faced in adjusting to a new education system
- Called for the reallocation of funds from school police positions to restorative justice programs and mental health support
- Expressed concerns about the school-to-deportation pipeline and the impact of increased police presence on immigrant students
Aliyam
9:29:10
Good afternoon.
9:29:11
My name is Aliyam and I'm a youth leader at McTherode, New York.
9:29:15
And I am a senior at an international high school in Queens.
9:29:19
I came here today to testify and urge the city council and Major Adams to take immediate action to support and protect young people like me by investing more money in our schools and education, not at school cops.
9:29:33
I came to this country about two years ago in search of more opportunity, safety, and better education.
9:29:41
It was very scary to to be alone with just my grandmother.
9:29:45
With all these changes going on, my teachers helped me orient me to a new language and a better education.
9:29:53
The one thing that I can just adjust is the amount of school policies always present.
9:29:59
It makes us feel like we did something wrong.
9:30:02
Every afternoon, the school cops go loud and aggressive, urging us to immediately leave the school property.
9:30:09
I used to attend regents prep classes on Saturdays and the school cops will push us to leave the building or stay outside the school even in the winter days.
9:30:22
School cops truly don't help us in any way.
9:30:25
They are not trying to support young people in mental health crisis and they should not be the people the school depends on to help us because their reaction to situations escalate everything.
9:30:38
We need adults that are training in restorative justice and mental health to support us.
9:30:45
It's terrifying to be surrounded by school cops because I know any interaction is more likely for us to get pushed into the school deportation pipeline.
9:30:55
Racism is the core of The United States system of policing incarceration and immigration.
9:31:01
Signs arriving, I've seen major items increase local and state police presence throughout the city.
9:31:08
All of these enforcement system used discrimination and violent tactics to criminalize black, brown, Latin, and immigrant people.
9:31:18
We are calling for the major and the city to prioritize our care, no criminalization.
9:31:24
This can be done by a staff hire hiring the school cops, cut funding for reminding 675 back in school cops position, and use the $100,000,000 that will come from both this disbursement to protect and expand restorative justice, mental health, and other staff and practices that help us students learn how to grow.
9:31:50
My senior year has felt very stressful as all of these efforts have come out attacking students at school.
9:31:59
It is really scary to know I can come into schools.
9:32:05
Every student deserves to feel safe in schools, regardless of their immigration status.
9:32:11
And let me be clear, when I when my friends and I talk about how how the school looks like safety, we don't include school cops.
9:32:22
We want more mental health support.
9:32:24
We want New York City to invest invest in us, not school cops.
9:32:28
City council members, we need you to stop and do everything in your power to protect the rights of all young people in schools.
9:32:36
I don't want to wonder if it's safe to finish my school year.
9:32:40
I want to continue planning for my college dreams and planning for my future career in psychology.
9:32:48
Protect me.
9:32:49
Protect young people.
9:32:50
Protect all immigrants.
9:32:52
Police and ICE are not welcome in our schools.
9:32:55
Thank you for listening in your time.