NEW CITY – Members of the NAACP Nyack/Spring Valley and Mid-Hudson/Westchester Branches, alongside community leaders, nonprofits, faith leaders, clergy, civil rights advocates, immigrant rights advocates, voting rights advocates, educators, and local residents gathered Thursday at the Thurgood Marshall Human Rights Monument in New City to condemn President Donald Trump’s visit to Rockland County alongside Congressman Mike Lawler.
Led by the Nyack NAACP and joined by numerous nonprofit organizations and community members, speakers warned that the visit comes at a time of growing attacks on voting rights, rising costs for working families, and increasing fear within immigrant communities. Earlier Thursday, reports surfaced of ICE agents in construction work clothes arresting individuals in Spring Valley, intensifying concerns raised during the press conference.
“The recently announced visit to Rockland County by President Trump alongside Congressman Lawler is not standard,” said Nicole Hines, President of the Nyack NAACP and Regional Director for the NAACP Mid-Hudson/Westchester Region. “This is a coordinated effort to solidify political power in a critical battleground district at the expense of marginalized communities.”
Hines also criticized Congressman Lawler’s continued alignment with Trump and what she described as attacks on civil rights and fair representation.
Rockland County Legislator Dr. Dana Stilley also spoke during the press conference, condemning what she described as the political hypocrisy and moral failures tied to the visit and the policies surrounding it.
“Rockland will not be divided,” said Stilley. “We will never stop fighting for the humanity and dignity of all.”
Stilley also pointed to the economic struggles many Rockland families are already facing amid rising gas and grocery prices, while warning against rhetoric and policies that erase key Black and civil rights history.
Indivisible Rockland Steering Committee Member Pascale Jean-Gilles said residents deserve leadership focused on real community needs.
“Lawler continues to show Rockland County that he doesn’t care about us,” said Jean-Gilles. “This time could be spent protecting immigrant families, creating affordable housing, and helping the next generation thrive. Instead, all he and his unwanted guests have brought are rising gas and grocery prices and continued attacks on voting rights.”
Jean-Gilles added, “Mike Lawler does not deserve to represent us in Congress.”
Brooke Malloy, Executive Director of the Nyack Pride Center, who provided a statement following the press conference, also criticized the impact the visit is having on local residents.
“Congressman Lawler is making Rockland pay in money, security, traffic, and fear for a visit that serves one person: himself,” said Malloy. “That is not leadership. That is a bill handed to the rest of us for his political survival.”
Speakers called on residents to remain engaged, protect vulnerable communities, and continue fighting for democracy, civil rights, and fair representation.
