On June 5 in front of City Hall, a group of city council members, led by Hiram Monserrate, Bill Perkins and Miguel Martínez, accompanied by community activists Moisés Pérez from Alianza Dominicana, Margie McHugh of the New York Immigrant Coalition, representatives from unions 32 BJ and SEIU, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab-American Family Support Center, the Immigrant Child Health Project, the Legal Aid Society, Se Hace Camino al Andar, as well as Anthony Miranda from the National Latino Officers Association of America, met to “condemn the Bloomberg administration’s new policy (referring to Executive Order 34) which will erode the ability of immigrants to obtain social services in the city for fear that their legal status will be revealed to the federal authorities.”

City Council Member Margarita López did not participate in the event. When questioned about her absence she responded, “Our people have to understand that here in the United States the first Patriot Act was passed at the federal level and that the Patriot Act has changed all of the rules of the game concerning immigrants, putting our constitution in danger. Of all the people living in the United States, the first Patriot Act endangers undocumented immigrants the most.”

“Mayor Bloomberg’s Executive Order 34 has to be understood in the context of the first Patriot Act. What the mayor is doing, it seems to me, is to try to create the best protection possible under the current circumstances,” said Lopez.

“All the parties concerned with the issue should sit down and have a sensible discussion in order to understand the real consequences that this will have, not only on immigrants, but also on United States citizens. Americans do not wish to harm immigrants but the Patriot Act has put us in a situation that our government should feel ashamed about,” said López.

The council member assured people that they should not fear bringing their children to school, to the hospital if they are sick, or to report being a victim of a crime for fear that the information they provide will be referred to federal authorities who will use it to possibly bring them to justice.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s office responded to the press conference called by city council members and community activists with a press release stating that “the order instructs city workers to not ask about the immigration status of people who request their services unless the law requires it or if the information is necessary as part of a criminal investigation.”

Bloomberg closed his statement saying, “It is deplorable that those who do not understand the executive order are doing so much damage to the communities they represent by propagating fear and saying immigrants will be punished for requesting social services or medical help.”