A Venezuelan migrant narrated with apparent relish the privileges that he and other migrants have at a newly opened shelter in a New York City neighborhood, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
“They treat us very well. There’s nothing they stop us from doing,” said Miguel Mujica, 39, one of the 56 migrants lodging at the McCarren Play Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, according to the New York Post. “They give us good hot food, which is freshly made; the food is very good. It’s mostly Venezuelan food. Pasta and rice with chicken, beef or goat. Lunch is mostly chicken and rice. Yesterday, I had a chicken cutlet. You can get water and juice whenever you want, no limit.”
There is no curfew at the shelter, Mujica said, per the Post. (RELATED: Eric Adams Opening Shelter For 2,000 Migrants After Previously Shuttering It)
Migrant raves about McCarren Park shelter — including hot food, snacks and pool: ‘There’s nothing they stop us from doing’ https://t.co/WbFr5H7qhw pic.twitter.com/C4TqbNxGik
— New York Post (@nypost) August 8, 2023
Mujica brought his wife, five-year-old daughter, and 15-year-old son from a family migrant hotel in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, “to the pool on Sunday, and there was no problem. We all swam between 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. It’s a very nice pool,” per the Post. He was reportedly expelled from the family migrant hotel for an undisclosed reason.
A former forensic pathology assistant earning $40 a month in Venezuela, Mujica now reportedly earns between $700 and 800 a week working under the table doing demolition and construction in Brooklyn. He and his family crossed the southern border into Texas in Sept. 2022 and arrived in New York City, reportedly attracted by the shelters. according to the outlet.
Mujica said he was saving for rent but noted that accommodation in New York City was expensive, per the Post. He also said he was awaiting a work permit, though he expected it to take a while, as “we are not hundreds who crossed the border, we are thousands, and that takes work to process,” the outlet reported.
He expressed satisfaction at coming to the U.S. “make a better life for my family and earn a decent wage,” per the Post.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Monday the construction of a 2,000-capacity migrant shelter on Randall’s Island as the city’s migrant population swells to over 57,200.