Many illegal aliens exempt from NYC school vaccine mandate

Many illegal aliens are being exempt from New York City’s vaccine mandate for students this coming school year, according to a new initiative announced by New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other officials last Friday. 

Currently, students in New York City public schools are required to be immunized with the entire vaccine schedule, and students five and up who participate in extracurricular activities are required to be injected with the COVID-19 shots. These activities include “chorus, musical theater, dance/dance team, band/orchestra (with concern for woodwinds), marching band, cheerleading/step teams/flag team” and Public Schools Athletic League sports. 

But under the city’s new Open Arms initiative for “families seeking asylum”, students in temporary housing will be exempt from the vaccine mandate so that their enrollment won’t be delayed. 

“[The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene] is part of a cross-agency team to link these families to [Federally Qualified Health Clinics] and health centers not just for immunizations but also for on-going pediatric care,” says the city's Open Arms plan. "As a reminder, students in temporary housing are excluded from immunization requirements as part of their right to immediate enrollment.” 

American children, however, will not be exempt from the city’s vaccine mandate, despite new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officially equating the unvaccinated with the vaccinated.  

“Our city has been, and will always be, a city of immigrants that welcomes newcomers with open arms,” said Mayor Adams in a statement, despite recently complaining about Texas Governor Greg Abbott sending busloads of illegal aliens to New York City. 

A recent report by the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI) named the Big Apple “America’s most dangerous sanctuary community.” 

“These communities have earned their places on this list because of incredibly poor leadership at the city, county, and state levels,” IRLI Executive Director and General Counsel Dale L. Wilcox said in a statement. “Data overwhelmingly shows that sanctuary policies lead to more crime, fear, and death.” 

“The leaders of these communities should not escape accountability for the damage they have caused,” Wilcox added. “Their residents deserve much more.”