No, immigrants did not storm New York City Hall in pursuit of luxury hotel rooms

CLAIM: Immigrants in the U.S. illegally on Tuesday stormed New York City Hall, demanding housing in luxury hotels rather than city shelters.

AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Hundreds of Black immigrants assembled peacefully in City Hall Park during a hearing about racial inequities in New York’s shelter and immigrant support systems. They gathered there after it became clear that only around 100 people would be allowed into the hearing, The Associated Press reported. The New York Police Department told the AP that no arrests were made in relation to the gathering. Attendees said they came for a variety of reasons, such as to support City Council members at the hearing or to see if they could get information about jobs and housing.

THE FACTS: Social media users are misrepresenting what happened at City Hall with false claims about how the immigrants acted and why they were there.

Many shared videos from the gathering that showed large groups of people calmly standing, milling about or waiting in line. Other footage showed people cheering outside the building.

“Illegals have just swarmed NYC City Hall and have surrounded it,” reads one X post that had received approximately 31,000 likes and 20,000 shares as of Wednesday. “They’re trying to occupy the building and are demanding luxury hotel rooms provided to illegals instead of the shelters that NYC has provided. This is only going to get worse.”

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A caption on a TikTok video of people in line reads: “TODAY IN BIDEN’S AMERICA… illegals in NYC stormed City Hall because they are being moved into shelters and out of their luxury hotels.” It was viewed approximately 58,700 times.

But the gathering of more than 1,500 immigrants, mostly from Guinea, was peaceful and there was no indication they had arrived en masse at City Hall to demand luxury hotel accommodations. No arrests were made, according to the NYPD.

The New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration held a hearing at City Hall on Tuesday about racial inequities in the city’s shelter and immigrant support systems. Relatively minor proposals were on the day’s agenda. For example, a set of bills that would require administrators to collect better data on migrants receiving city services, as well as a resolution for the federal government to eliminate or reimburse immigration application fees. Immigrants also testified about their own experiences.

A press conference was held on the steps of City Hall prior to the hearing. It featured speakers including Council Member Alexa Avilés, chair of the Committee on Immigration, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, and representatives of advocacy and support groups.

Emmet Teran, a spokesperson for Avilés, told the AP that groups represented at the conference invited immigrants that they work with to attend, though other early arrivals were also allowed beyond security barriers. He added that another impromptu press conference was held for those who could not get in.

“It’s disgusting, but not surprising from the people that are saying these things,” Teran said of the claims spreading online. “I think we were very clear in our messaging about the hearing, about what we wanted to cover, which was the experiences of Black immigrants in New York City.”

Teran described the crowds as “incredibly calm” and said that people were understanding even though some were frustrated about waiting in line or not getting into the hearing. They assembled in City Hall Park after realizing that only about 100 people would be allowed into the hearing, the AP reported. Many attendees said they had learned about the event by word of mouth, often on WhatsApp groups with fellow immigrants.

An AP reporter present at the gathering observed that it was calm and orderly. When asked, immigrants were largely concerned about obtaining authorization to work in the U.S. Some also complained about lack of access to halal food in shelters. Others were worried about being evicted from shelters or had come to support City Council members.
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This is part of the AP’s effort to address widely shared false and misleading information that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.