Town Halls are all the rage these days since President Trump was elected. To address this growing public need to be heard by their representatives, Congresswomen Nydia Velázquez and Carolyn Maloney joined forces and held a Town Hall on April 13th in the Lower East Side.
During the first half of the two-hour event the congresswomen took turns to inform on what has been happening on Capitol Hill. In addition they saluted the Women’s March as bringing forth a wave of citizen activism. Both congresswomen voiced their hopes that the people will continue to organize and hold their elected officials accountable.
“We need you to continue to do what you are doing there is too much at stake,” said Congresswomen Maloney.
The second half of the evening was dedicated to answering the audience’s questions. Index cards had been placed on the seats so those attending could write their questions down as the goal was to answer as many questions as possible. The first question asked was on immigration and voiced the concern that we are less safe because our immigrants are afraid to report crimes in fear of being deported. Congresswoman Velázquez mentioned she had just introduced legislation to stop the use of police as ICE agents.
Velázquez stressed that, “Local police are here to protect us and not to execute the responsibilities of the Federal Government in regards to immigration,” she answered.
Thank you for the summary of the meeting. I had it on my calendar but was out of town. I’ve been a fan of Velazquez for a long time.
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