"Votes matter": James Madison High School sparks backlash for housing nearly 2,000 migrants amid weather concerns

A storm brewing over New York has forced out around 2000 migrants from the Floyd Bennett Field tent shelter towards the comfort of James Madison High School in Brooklyn on Tuesday night, January 9. Concerns over the stability of the tent shelter during bad weather triggered the unprecedented move. The migrants were dropped off at the school amid the pouring rain on school buses.

The school had sent out a notification detailing that it would be closed and that classes on Wednesday would be remote due to the building being used as a "temporary overnight respite center."

Netizens were shocked by the move and were not supportive of it at all. Most of them entirely blamed the Biden administration's border policies for the situation. One user commented:

Netizens condemned the current administration (Image via X/@InnaVernikov)

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Netizens blame current border policies for the James Madison situation

With a storm forecast for Tuesday night, there was concern over the migrant tent shelter at the abandoned Floyd Bennett Airfield, as it was expected to collapse. New York was on a red alert and set to face heavy rains, winds over 70 mph, and possible coastal and inland flooding, along with a high probability of power shortages.

Thereby, the migrants were temporarily relocated to James Madison High School. Two dozen buses lined up at the tent shelter to pick up almost 2000 immigrants, all headed towards the school. The move began at around 5 in the evening. 10 NYPD squad cars and a few fewer Emergency Management trucks were parked at the shelter.

The migrants arrived in droves as the buses escorted them onto school premises. They were set to ride out the storm at the school's gym and auditorium at night and leave by Wednesday. According to the New York Post, James Madison gym teacher Robyn Levy stated that teachers were instructed to "get everything out" by 5 in the evening. The teacher was quoted as saying:

"They sent us the email at 6 in the morning. I don’t know when we’ll be able to back."

Levy asked the question:

"Why not send them somewhere where students wouldn’t be disrupted, where students learning wouldn’t be disrupted?"

As for the students, a notification was given stating that classes on Wednesday would be remote, citing the school building turning into a "temporary overnight respite center."

Videos of the migrants arriving in buses went viral, drawing the ire of many. New York City Council minority whip, Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, complained about the migrants not getting vetted at a supposed "scan school."

Netizens were also extremely disgruntled by the decision to house migrants in a school. Social media users blamed the entire situation on the Biden administration and their border policies. Some even vehemently blasted the city by claiming that this was what they got for voting Democrat.

The term "illegal aliens" was thrown around left, right, and center as social media users protested the migrants being allowed to enter James Madison High School. Here are a few reactions from Collin Rugg and Councilwoman Inna Vernikov's tweets regarding the James Madison situation:

It was reported that the migrants weren't exactly welcomed with open arms at the school. One woman shouted at them at the buses housing migrants, saying, "How does it feel that you kicked all the kids out of school tomorrow?" and a local father shouted, "How do you feel stealing American tax money?".

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Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the migrants are set to leave on Wednesday.