NYC NOW - Morning Headlines: Migrant Children in Court Without Lawyers, Hotel Group Pushes for Lower Tax, and Trump Weighs In on Long Island Mascot Fight

Episode Date: April 22, 2025

Local immigration advocates say more migrant children are showing up to court without legal representation, after the Trump administration cut funding for their attorneys. Meanwhile, New York City’s hotel lobby is urging officials to lower the occupancy tax, blaming tourism losses on new federal tariffs. Plus, President Trump is backing a Long Island school district fighting to keep its Native American mascot, despite a statewide ban.

Welcome to NYC now. Your source for local news in and around New York City from WNYC. It's Tuesday, April 22nd. Here's the morning headlines from Michael Hill. An increasing number of migrant children in New York City are going to immigration court without attorneys after the Trump administration pulled funding for their representation. That's according to local attorneys and immigration advocates. Mina Shaw is co-Mashaw.

managing director of the Legal Services Center at The Door, Shaw says the funding cuts will lead to more children getting deported. That could all happen without that child ever speaking with an attorney and giving the opportunity to attain representation. So the cruelty is really apparent to all of us out here in the field. The Trump administration terminated part of a contract last month that provided immigration attorneys for more than 26,000 unaccompanied children. New York City's hotel lobbying group says the occupancy tax needs to be lower due to the negative impact of tariffs on tourism. The industry is pushing for the rate to be 3%. That's about half of where it stands now. The surcharge brings the city hundreds of millions of dollars each year by charging guests when they stay in a room.

BJ Dendapani is the president of the Hotel Association of New York City. He says hotel owners fear the future. They need help, and the city needs them. because it's not just the hotel that benefits, but the ecosystem. Reports indicate that travel to the city has dropped in recent months since the Trump administration raised tariffs saw many foreign nations, including Canada, the biggest supplier of tourists to the United States.

President Donald Trump is taking sides in a heated school mascot fight on Long Island. WNYC's Julia Hayward explains that. Trump posted online in support of the Massapequa Chiefs. A school mascot, that the state is requiring districts to retire under a new rule targeting the use of Native American imagery. Trump called the rule, quote, an affront to our great Indian population, and said he's asked his education secretary to intervene. A federal judge dismissed Massapequa's legal challenge to the rule last month, but school officials have said they're not backing down.

The ban is part of a statewide effort to eliminate indigenous mascots from public schools by the end of next school year. Clouds out there now, gradually becoming sunny and warm today, a high near 78. And then tonight, a low into the mid-50s. Tomorrow, mostly sunny, mid-70s, so still warm. And then on Thursday and Friday, still warm. Low 70s with sunshine. 53 with clouds right now. Thanks for listening.

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