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Transcript: Mayor de Blasio Hosts Press Conference to Discuss Humanitarian Situation in the Dominican Republic

June 21, 2015

Mayor Bill de Blasio: Okay, we are ready to get started. Thank you everyone for being here – such an important issue that demands the attention of all New Yorkers, of all Americans, of people all over the globe. This is a fundamental matter of human rights and human decency.

I want to thank everyone who is standing with me today. I want to thank everyone gathered here in this important place in our city, a city that speaks to the fight for justice and is one of the touchstones of our memory of what it is to call out injustice. And so, this is a fitting place for us to gather.

It is a deeply troubling moment in the Dominican Republic. The government is fundamentally undermining the rights of the people of not just the Dominican Republic – the people of Haiti, the people of that island they share. In defying our common sense of humanity, this is an affront to our values – our shared values as human beings. In the coming months, hundreds of thousands of Dominicans of Haitian decent could be torn from their home, torn from everything they know, forced [inaudible] across the border into Haiti.

And for so many of these people, the Dominican Republic is the place they’ve known as home. Not just in this generation – in many cases, for several generations. This is an affront on so many levels and it is inhumane on so many levels.

It is clearly an illegal act. It is an immoral act. It is a racist act by the Dominican government. And it’s happening because these people are black. And it cannot be accepted.

I call on the government of the Dominican Republic to cease these expulsions immediately, to end the detentions of innocent people, and to stop the cultivation of fear.

We have to see this policy as fear mongering on a grand scale by a government. We’ve seen that before in history. We have to call it out and stop it every time we see it. We know how horrific the results have been in the past when this type of fear mongering goes unchecked.

The Dominican government must restore the fundamental rights of citizenship and all other fundamental rights to Dominicans of Haitian descent.

This is an issue that has united New Yorkers. It has united people of all backgrounds. It has united people from the Dominican community and the Haitian community alike. I want to talk about some of the people gathered here with me, and thank them.

But first, I want to thank Malaak Shabazz for allowing us this opportunity to be in this wonderful and powerful space. We had a few minutes to talk before, and I’ve been an admirer of yours and your family for a long time. And, as I said, your father’s work, for so many of us, was a guiding light in terms of understanding how we should act in our society and how we should call out injustice. And we thank you and your entire family. Thank you.

I want to thank the members of my administration who are here. And I want to say, on a personal note, they are here as governmental leaders, but they are here because this touches them personally as well – every one of them. Either because they have a connection to the two countries involved or because they, through their own experience, understand the pain of what violations of human rights have meant to people over the generations.

So, I want to thank Commissioner Rose Pierre-Louis, our commissioner for the Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence; Lisette Camilo, our commissioner for the Mayor’s Office for Contract Services; Gary Rodney, the Director of the Housing Development Corporation. I want to thank Marco Carrión, our commissioner for Community Affairs; Penny Abeywardena, our commissioner for International Affairs. And, if I’ve missed any of our commissioners, please let me know.

I want to thank the elected officials who have joined us. State Senator Jose Peralta, Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. I want to thank the great community leader, Dr. Rafael Lantigua, who I have known now for a quarter century, and appreciate his guidance and his commitment to the community.

I want to thank all the other activists – I’m sorry, Council Member Rafael Espinal, thank you so much for being here – all the other activists, who are here from organizations that fight for human rights, that fight to make sure there’s a single standard of decency. I want to thank my old friend Estella Vazquez, of 1199 SEIU, one of the great institutions in this city that fights for human rights for all. I want to thank Councilmember Mathieu Eugene, of Brooklyn.

I also am very touched by the presence of the great Haitian American author, Edwidge Danticat, who makes this city her home. Edwidge, please stand, where are you? Thank you so much. We applaud you, and we thank you.

[Applause]

One of the great – and I don’t know how you classify yourself – but I will classify you as one of the great young writers in this nation, and one of the great interpreters of the Haitian experience and the Haitian-American experience. And we thank you for speaking out on this issue.

So many people are here in solidarity, feeling the pain of events so close by, in geographical terms and in cultural terms, our connection to an island that the Dominican Republic and Haiti share – our connection is tremendously deep in this city. We feel those actions there as if they were happening in here. You know there is over 400,00 New Yorkers who were born in the Dominican Republic, and over 100,000 New Yorkers who were born in Haiti. So, this hits home powerfully for us and is so important to say – as we must say in so many circumstances in the globe – our opposition today is to the policies of the Dominican Republic, to that government’s policies, not to the people of the Dominican Republic who we hold so dear, who are our neighbors in every sense and who are such a core part of the life of this city.

This would not be the first time, brothers and sisters, that we have seen a good people have a government that made many mistakes and made decisions that didn’t reflect the values of the people as a whole. There are a lot of people right now in the Dominican Republic who are afraid, who feel powerless, who feel unable to speak for themselves. It is our job to speak for Dominicans of Haitian descent. It is our job to stand up for them and to encourage those all over the globe to do the same. There has been an outcry from the international community and for those who have no yet weighed in, the time is now. Leaders all over the world need to speak at this moment.

People are being targeted simply because of their skin color and who they are and it has to end. And remember, for many people, this is about a heritage that the last time a member of their family lived in Haiti was one or two generations ago. That’s how pernicious this policy is. There is a danger that as many as 200,000 people could be expelled and it has to stop now. When something like this happens and it goes unchecked – it’s like a cancer that spreads to other places. That’s why it’s so important to remember injustice, anywhere, cultivates further injustice. That’s why such a broad coalition has stood together. And it’s my belief that governments that would take such an action are vulnerable to the powerful rebuke of the international community. The Dominican government must understand that they are being watched by people all over the world right now. Their deplorable actions are visible for all to see and there will be such horrible ramifications if they don’t stop now. We pray that this mistake will be corrected right now as an example to the world of the fact that we will stand in the way of any injustice, and we will move to a community of equality and justice for all, which we commit ourselves to everyday, here, in this city.

[Mayor de Blasio Speaks in Spanish]

Mayor: With that, I want to introduce two speakers that represent, together, the unity of purpose that we feel here today. First, Celso Perez – he is a fellow in global justice at Human Rights Watch. He is proudly of Dominican heritage. He has been a leading researcher on the issue that we are confronting right now and an advocate on this issue and he’s about to publish a very powerful report, making clear to the world what is happening in the Dominican Republic. He understands just how many people’s lives are at risk because of flawed actions of the government and the legal system. We welcome Celso Perez. You can clap for him.

[Applause]

[…]

Mayor: Again, I want to note the outstanding representation here from leaders of both the Dominican-American community and Haitian-American community here in this city – united – in common cause and calling for the Dominican government to stop this immoral act. I want to welcome and acknowledge and thank Councilmember Antonio Reynoso for joining us. Thank you very much.

[Applause]

Mayor: The last speaker, as I mentioned, we were going to have two speakers representing each community, and both experts on the challenges at hand. Ralph Delouis is board chairman at the Haitian American Lawyers Association of New York. And that association has been at the forefront of advocacy on this issue both here and in the Dominican Republic. We welcome Ralph Delouis.

[…]

Mayor: Alright, we are going to take questions from the media on this topic first, and then I’ll take some on topic after.  First, on this topic.  Yes, Emily.

Question: Hi, Mayor. International rebuke, of course, would be effective, but are you looking at any sort of economic sanctions or boycotting them – anything that would be a little stronger armed?

Mayor: I think the rebuke is extraordinary and is happening from all over the world – obviously, the United Nations is involved as well. And I believe the Dominican government literally has a matter of days to change course before you’ll start to see other consequences.  It’s unimaginable to me that a lot of Americans, for example, are going to want to travel to the Dominican Republic if this issue is unresolved. And it’s unimaginable that people are going to want to have conferences and conventions, and that a lot of us who normally would be working closely with the Dominican government will feel comfortable doing so in this atmosphere. So, my hope is that with these strong voices from around the world, we’ll see change quickly. Otherwise, I think that will be the time to talk about other consequences. And I think some of them will just start to happen very naturally. 

On this topic. On this topic – going once, going twice.  Okay, and I would urge our friends in the media to spend time with these leaders and experts afterwards. I think it would be very important to hear from them directly.  Anything off-topic from our friends in the media ­– anything off-topic?  Media questions – yes, sir?

[…]

Question: Mayor de Blasio, City Council will investigate Commissioner Bratton’s practice  of  granting police foundation contracts to his associates. Should consultants [inaudible] through the police foundation be required to make financial disclosures of outside business interests?

Mayor: It’s an independent foundation. I think the standards are obviously different from that for government. 

Yes, Emily.

Question: Two issues if you don’t mind, just to get fresh comment from you.

Mayor: Please.

Question: The first is, a lot of people are gathering in churches nationwide to think and to pray on Charleston. Because they’ve been obviously in your thoughts this morning [inaudible] –

Mayor: Absolutely. And I watched the – part of the church service from Emanuel in Charleston earlier this morning, which was very, very powerful.  Look – again, this was an act of domestic terror. There is no question about it.  It was a terrorist attack. It was racist attack. We need to recognize how much the stain of racism is alive in this country right now, and how structural it still is. And we have to address it.  I also said yesterday, when I spoke with the leaders and members of the AME community in Queens – and we had a gathering to talk about the impact this has had on all of us, though particular solidarity we were all showing with the AME community. 

This is also a moment where we have to change our laws related to guns.  This attack was facilitated by the easy availability of guns in this country. And it is like so many other horrible attacks, whether they were terrorism, or racially motivated, or whether they are the other kinds of things we’ve seen so frequently – the campus shootings, which have become, strangely, a norm in this country.  Also, based on the easy availability of guns, it’s time for Washington to act. And inaction by Washington now – after we already saw inaction after Newtown – I think will bring the rebuke of the American people. And there is a serious question of mental health here too.  We cannot separate these pieces. We have to have the ability to say that an act of terror and an act of racism also connects to the problem of guns – also connects to the fact that we are not seriously addressing mental health issues in this country.  It’s a time of tremendous reflection, and I hope that turns very quickly into action.

Question: The second part is –

Mayor: Please.

Question: On Albany and rent regulations, there is a five-day extension of the laws as they are. Do you anticipate something will be resolved early this week, maybe next –

Mayor: I learned long ago not to anticipate the actions of Albany, but I would say – and no disrespect to my good brothers and sisters who serve in Albany here and have been such great voices for getting things done. But look, the people of this city are demanding action – certainly I think people all over the state are demanding action. But for the city, the issues affecting us – the need to extend and strengthen rent regulation, the need to continue mayoral control education.   I keep saying, look at the magnitude – over two million New Yorkers affected by rent regulation; over 1.2 million school children, and then many, many more family members ­ – millions of family members – affected by mayoral control of education. These things require action now. And obviously, this is the week – this upcoming week is the time to get this done and get things finished.

Question: Following up on that – you said that a [inaudible]. You said that a straight extension of rent laws is not enough, and that it needs to be strengthened. It looks the Assembly now – although they previously backed that position – has introduced a two-year straight extender. Would you be willing to support that? Or do you think [inaudible] –

Mayor: Okay, I believe in the need for seriously improving and strengthening our rent laws. We’ve lost several hundred thousand affordable units out of rent regulation, out of Mitchell-Lama, over the last two decades. I think we must strengthen our rent laws. I think what’s happening in Albany right now is a series of maneuvers inside the Capital – different things being done to try and get to an outcome. I’m not going to comment on any one of those actions that are clearly tactical. I know what the goal needs to be – the goal needs to be a strengthening of our rent regulations.

Media question? Media brother? Media? Yes – yes, sir.

Question: [Question asked in Spanish]

Mayor: Alright, I’m going need Ydanis – you’re going to come and be my translator.

My guest translator, Ydanis Rodriguez.

Question: [Question asked in Spanish]

Mayor: Celso and Ydanis will speak. Did you hear the question?

[Celso Perez speaks in Spanish]

Celso Perez: Now in English. The question was, what do – do you understand that the regularization plan that has been carried out to regularize the status of Haitian migrants has been sufficient? My answer was, I understand that this process, though a step in the right direction, is ultimately insufficient for the Dominican government to comply with its obligations under international law and – international human rights law.

Mayor: Thank you. Ydanis?

[Ydanis Rodriguez Speaks in Spanish]

Ydanis Rodriguez: So, today – today I just want to be clear that, you know – first of all, I applaud the mayor for his leadership. And as someone born and raised in this issue I understand. And I know that there’s a lot of work that we got to do. But what I say – the President, Danilo Medina, who inherited the decision of the court is the first president in the Dominican Republic that created a path to regulate the citizenship of the Haitian presents in D.R. Also, by the day of the deadline of the court close to 300 people – undocumented filled out the form. There’s 45 days that they had to complete, bring all their documents, but the president of the Dominican Republic – the president of Haiti, and the International community – they have a lot of work to do to be sure that those 300, and others who are undocumented get the support they need to fix [inaudible. But I also wanted to take advantage – to call an international community. The European community and the United States of America invested $3 billion dollar that they have in their hand. That they raised to invest in Haiti. And they haven’t done it. And they had a commitment of close to $20 billion. So, [inaudible] working together we provide the support and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in Haiti by also calling in the international community to do their part too.

Mayor: Alright, hold on. Let’s – I’m going to give a chance – one more chance to the media.

Yes?

Question: [inaudible]

Mayor: Hold on everyone – hold on. Go ahead.

Question: Donald Trump is the only New York City resident to run for president. I’m wondering what you think – how he represents this city?

Mayor: I don’t think he does.

[Laughter]
Mayor: I don’t think he represents the values of the vast majority of New Yorkers. And I said the other day, I’m not going to talk about the details of the Republican field. I think whoever they produce for the general election will not represent the values – not only of this place, but I suspect will not represent the values of the American people either.

Okay, last call. Going once.

Question: Are there are any figures that show how many people have actually been registered officially? And how do they intend to transport those people, and to where?

Mayor: Ralph – Celso [inaudible].

Celso Perez: Sure. So just to clarify, there are two processes going on – I can say it in Spanish later. So, there’s a regularization process. This process is for Haitian migrants – people born in Haiti who immigrate to the D.R. As of the latest numbers I saw this week, I think June16th – June 17th, the government numbers were that there were 288,000 people who had registered under this. This means people submitted applications. It’s unclear whether those applications will be accepted or denied. There’s a 45-day grace period for those applications to be reviewed. That’s one thing. The other issue and this is I think what’s – what we understand as much more clearly a violation of international law in a lot of ways – is the issue of Dominicans of Haitian decent. These are people that were born in the Dominican Republic. They have Dominican citizenship because they were born under a constitution that says that if you’re born in the Dominican Republic you get citizenship and nationality. And these people in 2013 – they were arbitrarily denied that nationality. There was a program in place to register these people many who hadn’t been registered out of a universe – according to the government – a universe of 53,000 – only 8,000 were able to register in that process. So, you know – what’s that 20 percent? Maybe less than 20 percent, I can’t. And these people are now also at risks of not deportation, but really expulsion because these are people that are Dominican – should be able to stay in the Dominican Republic.

[Applause]

Mayor: Thank you.

Alright, thank you everyone. Thank you for gathering today. Thank you very much.

[Applause] 

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