A fight breaks out between 300 NYC migrants waiting outside in the cold for shelter before a MAJOR snowstorm hits the East Coast
A fight has broken out among a crowd of 300 migrants waiting outside in the cold for shelter in New York City, ahead of a major snowstorm set to hit the East Coast.
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. outside the readmission center in East Village, when a man tried to sneak into the large line, witnesses said. The New York Post.
He was holding a cup of coffee and spilled it on others as he tried to cut to the front before being confronted by another migrant.
An argument quickly turned physical with the man allegedly punching the line cutter who fell to the ground and others joined in.
The fight left two police officers injured as they tried to break it up, after which two men were arrested.
A fight has broken out among a crowd of 300 migrants waiting outside in the cold for shelter in New York City ahead of a major snowstorm to hit the East Coast.
The incident began around 8:30 a.m. outside the East Village readmission center when a man tried to sneak into the large line, witnesses told The New York Post.
Footage shows police officers urging the crowd to take a step back to regain control of the situation.
“People were hitting each other and fighting – a lot of people,” said Samantha Hernandez, 27, from Mexico.
'I think they were desperate about the situation – it's very bad. There are too many people and not many opportunities for us here.
“And (the city) treats us like animals.”
The police officers suffered minor injuries to their knees and faces when they tried to break up the fight.
They were taken to a local hospital for treatment, according to the NYPD. It is not clear whether any migrants were injured in the brawl.
The NYPD said the two men involved in the fight are in custody but have not yet been charged. DailyMail.com has contacted police for comment.
They were part of a crowd of more than 300 people desperately trying to find shelter before the snowstorm hit the East Coast.
The line for the East Village facility snaked around the building, with some migrants revealing they have been waiting for a bed for a month.
A man from Mauritania revealed he waited 25 days for a bed, while others waited even longer – without being offered food.
He revealed that conditions in the shelters are dire. 'There are fights inside the shelter, people steal phones, people have knives and there is not enough food.
A man held a cup of coffee and spilled it on others as he tried to cut in front before being confronted by another migrant
An argument quickly turned physical with the man allegedly punching the line cutter who fell to the ground and others joined in
The fight left two police officers injured as they tried to break it up, after which two men were arrested
The men were part of a crowd of more than 300 people desperately trying to find shelter before the snowstorm hit the East Coast.
“They have to close the border because there are too many (people) now.”
The man revealed that homeless migrants are forced to sleep on the streets or in the subway because they have nowhere else to go. 'People have to queue for a spot in a warming area and that is not always possible.'
Groups of migrants waited all day Friday outside the former St. Brigid Catholic School in subzero temperatures, without blankets or warm clothing.
The lines have exposed the severity of New York City's migrant crisis, with hundreds of people — mostly young men — lining up for shelter in Manhattan.
It comes as America's Northeast braces for snowstorms with snowstorms starting this weekend and lasting into mid-January.
While many are expecting mild snow, the National Weather Service has forecast snow, sleet and freezing rain Saturday afternoon through Sunday.
Parts of southern Connecticut, northeastern New Jersey and southeastern New York are forecast to receive four to eight inches of snow between 4 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday.
Mobs of migrants queued outside a New York processing center in freezing weather as some revealed they had been waiting for a bed for a month
The migrants had come from all over and ended up in a readmission center for adult single migrants in the East Village.
Swarms of migrants waited all day Friday outside the former St. Brigid Catholic School in subzero temperatures, without blankets or warm clothing
A man from Mauritania revealed he waited 25 days for a bed, while others waited even longer (Photo: Mauritanian migrant Moussa Thiam, 29)
Heavy sleet and flooding are forecast beginning Saturday evening in the boroughs of Manhattan, Staten Island, Brooklyn and southern Queens.
The National Weather Service has advised New Yorkers not to drive through these regions.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts are expected to see the heaviest snowfall from the winter storm system starting Saturday evening, between 6 and 12 inches in some areas.
The heartbreaking conditions facing migrants across the US come after record numbers of migrants crossed the US southern border in December.
There were 300,000 encounters in the last month of 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol sources told Fox News. Between December 1 and December 31, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border.
It is the highest single-month total ever recorded in history and marks the first time encounters with migrants have exceeded 300,000.