People’s Church in East Harlem, New York, Provides Haven for Asylum Seekers

On a humid afternoon in late June, a small crowd gathered outside First Spanish United Methodist Church (FSUMC) in New York City’s East Harlem neighborhood. Women supervised children playing along the sidewalk, while men adjusted their backpacks and brushed sweat from their brows, waiting to be invited inside.

The group was made up of Central and South American migrants seeking asylum in the United States. Several times a week, they visit the church to receive food, clothing, and other necessities they have struggled to find elsewhere in the city.

“We’ve been getting around 30 to 40 families per week,” said Vilma “Vee” Rivera, a lifelong resident of East Harlem who oversees the church’s support services for asylum seekers. “People call me every day asking, ‘Are you open?'”

FSUMC, commonly known as “The People’s Church,” has supported the Latino communities that have called East Harlem home for 100 years. Over the past nine months, Rivera and other volunteers have added to that legacy by creating a safe haven and resource hub for migrants arriving from the southern border. “These are people who come here with nothing,” Rivera said. “I want this to be a space where they can sit with their kids, have a plate of food and feel comfortable.” Offering a welcome to strangers in need, the church provides hot meals as well as clothing.

The church’s assistance program for migrants has grown significantly since it launched in September 2022. Beyond hot meals and clothing, Rivera and her team set up English classes for asylum seekers through the fall and winter. They also helped establish an Occupational Safety and Health Administration certification course, giving migrants a pathway to work in construction. According to the report, these services have been kept afloat by volunteers and community donations, as well as work from the migrants themselves.

Carmen Rosado, a neighborhood resident and artist who has volunteered at the church since the fall, said the migrants help where they can. “They see what we’re doing for them and they want to pay it back.”

The church’s services have been indispensable for asylum seekers such as Karen, 29, who left her native Ecuador with her husband and two children to start a new life in the U.S. Since arriving in New York City two months ago, Karen and her husband have not been able to secure steady work, forcing the family to rely on social services. “Employers ask for our IDs and social (security numbers),” she told Latino Rebels. “We don’t want to depend on others, but until we get our work permits, we have no choice.”

Karen said The People’s Church has given her family a sense of security and belonging that had been missing since they arrived in New York. She said the meals there are a welcome substitute for food served at city shelters, which she says can be more than three days old.

Donations to FSUMC have remained steady since September, but Rivera and her team still lack the resources and staff to care for every migrant who visits. “The saddest part of the day is when we run out of food,” Rosado said. “And we have to tell families with kids to come back tomorrow.”

The church had been a hub for immigrant communities in East Harlem, known colloquially as “Spanish Harlem” or “El Barrio,” long before it began welcoming asylum seekers. In the winter of 1969, it was occupied by the Young Lords, a revolutionary socialist and civil rights organization fighting for Puerto Rican independence and the empowerment of Latinos and other underserved and marginalized communities. Inspired by the ideology and tactics of the Black Panther Party, the Young Lords’ New York chapter occupied the church for 11 days, offering meals and medical services to local residents and running a daycare with Spanish classes and Puerto Rican history lessons. A stretch of East 111th Street has since been renamed “Young Lords Way” in honor of the group.

Source: Read the original report