A longtime activist with ties to the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations and pro-Palestinian activist Linda Sarsour was tapped by Mayor Zohran Mamdani this week as the city’s new chief immigration officer.
Faiza Ali – who worked with Mamdani on the Muslim Democratic Club of New York board – was appointed commissioner of the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs on Monday, City Hall announced.
“At a time when immigrant New Yorkers face escalating attacks and uncertainty, this administration will not equivocate. We will defend our neighbors. We will expand access to services,” Mamdani said in a statement, saying he was “proud” of the appointment.
Ali previously served as deputy chief of staff to former City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and has more than a decade of experience in religious-based activism.
Her resume includes time with the controversial Muslim civil rights organization CAIR, where she worked as community affairs director, according to Gothamist.
The nonprofit has faced allegations of connections to terror groups like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, also notably celebrated Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, calling the Jewish state an “occupying power” and saying Gaza was “breaking the siege” – though he later said his words were taken out of context, according to Fox News.
Ali has also been associated with Sarsour for years.
A 2012 New York Times article covered their religious activism in the city, while the pair were arrested side-by-side during a 2017 protest outside of Trump Tower.
Sarsour has been accused of antisemitism, particularly over public comments praising terrorist Rasmea Odeh — who killed two civilians in the 1970 Jerusalem supermarket bombing.
Ali was the first Muslim woman to hold a first deputy chief of staff position with the City Council, and landed on Crain’s New York Business 2022 40 under 40 list. Her profile noted that she was inspired to become an activist after facing Islamophobic harassment after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
The daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she grew up in Brooklyn and has been involved in religious community organizing since at least 2011 when she worked with the progressive Jewish organization Bend the Arc, according to amNY.
“I am the proud daughter of immigrant parents from Pakistan who came to New York City with courage, an unshakable belief in possibility, and the determination to build a future here,” she said in a statement after her appointment.
“This city gave us opportunity, stability, and the chance to put down roots, just as it has for generations of immigrants before us,” she said. “New York City is not just home to immigrants, it is powered by them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.