exclusive
That’s not how you make it in America.
A Mexican immigrant who worked hard to achieve the American dream blasted the group of migrants engaged in an ongoing standoff outside the Manhattan hotel where they were told to relocate to a new shelter in Brooklyn.
“It’s bulls–t,” Bonfilio Solis, 43, fumed Wednesday. “These migrants expect benefits from the government and aren’t appreciating what they’re being given. They’re being very disrespectful.”
Solis, who lives in Morningside Heights with his wife and four kids, said he wanted to see for himself what was happening outside the three-star Watson Hotel in Hell’s Kitchen.
But when he took out his cellphone to shoot a video, some migrants began harassing him, as they also did to several journalists after outside activists used open umbrellas to try to shield the scene from the news media.
City Hall has blamed activists for fueling the standoff that began over the weekend.
Solis, who runs a remodeling business with two employees, said he was outraged by the situation.
“I’ve been here 30 years. I never got nothing from the government but I busted my ass and now I own my own construction company,” he said. “My first job in America was washing dishes in a restaurant, then a waiter, then I got a job in construction and worked my way up to foreman.”
Solis added: “To see these guys sitting here, expecting everything to be given to them with no effort — it’s not fair to other migrants that are willing to work and are working for a better future.”
“They’ve been given shelter in Brooklyn but they won’t take it because they expect an expensive hotel room. It’s not right,” he said. “It gives migrants a bad name.”
