There was excitement along the route of the Dominican Day parade on Sunday. But there was also vocal evidence that some attendees are still angry at Mayor Bill de Blasio for calling their country "immoral" and "racist" in June for imposing a deadline to deport Haitian immigrants who lost their citizenship after 2013 court ruling.
The mayor was booed as he walked along the parade route with his wife. It wasn't unanimous,by any means. But it was loud enough to reveal there were still a lot of tough feelings."He's against Dominicans," said José Nicolas Garcia, or of North Bergen,novel Jersey."We tried to stop the illegal immigration from Haitian people to the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is not a wealthy country, you get too many illegal people."Daniel Luna of Brooklyn said the mayor should "intellect his own business" because he doesn't know what's going on in Dominican Republic. He said the country helped its neighbors in Haiti build schools and shelter after the 2010 earthquake. He also said Haitians were given time to get their paperwork before being deported in June."I don't see what's improper, and " he said.
Miriam Vasquez of Manhattan said she now regretted voting for de Blasio. "He needs to apologize to Dominican Republic and all the people for his comment," she said, referring to the potential impact on tourism.
De Blasio did not publicize any pre-parade activities with Dominican leaders, and unlike Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The governor's office touted that he was invited to two different events where he received awards for his work to raise the minimum wage and to combat the exploitation of workers in the country illegally.
Nor did De Blasio take any questions form reporters. However,he showed no sign of backing down from his remarks. He issued the following statement on Sunday afternoon:“I continue to be deeply concerned about the treatment of Dominicans of Haitian descent. For their own narrow political reasons, some activists are trying to stop me from speaking out about the injustices in the Dominican Republic. Their opposition won't silence me.”
Source: wnyc.org