Two illegal immigrants stashed at a Ramada Inn in Yonkers, New York, were arrested Tuesday after violence broke out at the motel, which houses some of New York City’s overflow of illegal immigrants.
Bodycam footage released by the Yonkers Police Department shows migrants resisting as Yonkers police responded, according to WNYW-TV.
"A guy's over here unruly, he's getting very violent with everybody. He's throwing stuff at everybody. Send somebody here right away," an officer said on a 911 call police released.
Police entered the motel and handcuffed Arnal Kent, 35, but then struggled to get him outside as Kent resisted, aided by a woman identified as Yainilet Hernandez, 24, who is also an illegal immigrant living at the Ramada Inn.
Police said Hernandez tried to strike officers after they arrested her for impeding Kent’s arrest.
Illegal Immigrants Attack Cops In NY At Ramada Inn Shelterhttps://t.co/DrQHGy2nQM
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One officer injured a knee and wrist, police said.
Kent told WNYW he was from Venezuela. The station translated Kent’s remarks to mean: “They abuse us; they invade our privacy, and they take our money, our belongings without our permission.”
The station said Kent told a reporter the treatment he was getting was “a violation of his rights and the other migrants who’ve been staying here.”
The Ramada Inn has housed about 250 illegal immigrants since May 2023.
Police said they’ve been called to the site more than 130 times in the past year.
Kent was charged with menacing, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. He was freed without bail, and according to the New York Post.
Hernandez faces charges of second-degree assault, obstruction of governmental administration and resisting arrest, and was being held at the Westchester County Jail on $500 bail.
Illegal immigrants said they do not like their accommodations.
"We escaped our countries because we weren't safe, now we're not safe here," said a migrant from Venezuela said, according to WABC-TV.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano said some illegal immigrants refuse to obey the rules.
“The individuals that we're talking about and what's happening at the Ramada Inn appears to be limited to a few people who just frankly aren't happy with some of the rules," he said, according to CBS.
Those rules include a ban on some appliances such as hot posts in rooms.
"We're not dealing with crime, we're dealing with disputes. We're trying to obviously diffuse disputes. There's a couple people that aren't happy with certain situations, certain rules," Yonkers Det. Sgt. Frank DiDomizio said.
