NEW YORK — When an immigrant from Bangladesh set off a bomb in New York City’s subway system last week, he was the only person injured. But New York City’s vibrant Bangladeshi community is worried that it, too, may ultimately get hurt by the attack.
Within hours of the blast, President Donald Trump was assailing the immigration system that had allowed the alleged bomber — and multitudes of law-abiding Bangladeshis — to enter the U.S.
Akayed Ullah, 27, got an entry visa in 2011 because he had an uncle who was already a U.S. citizen. Trump said allowing foreigners to follow relatives to the U.S. was “incompatible with national security.” He pledged to work toward a system that would give preference instead to people who had wealth or special skills.
That promised policy change struck a sour note with some Bangladeshis in the Brooklyn neighborhood where Ullah lived.
“If Trump is going to stop immigration visas, that’s not good for our Bangladeshi people,” said Fazlul Karim, 45, a livery car driver. “Because some people are waiting for their families — citizens who apply for their wives, children who are missing their father. So if they cannot come here, it’s going to be very sad. We are afraid.”
Kamal Bhuiyan, chairman of the Bangladeshi American Advocacy Group, said it would be unfair to hold the entire community responsible for the actions of one person.
“Those who commit crimes, they do not believe in God and they don’t belong to anybody,” Bhuiyan said. “They don’t belong to Bangladeshis nor anybody else around the world. They are themselves.”
According to the U.S. Census’ 2016 American Community Survey, there are about 90,000 Bangladeshis in New York City, out of a nationwide population of about 234,000. It is a relatively new immigration group. Two-thirds of New York’s Bangladeshis arrived in the U.S. after 2000.
While the Bangladeshi community isn’t as large as other ethnic groups in the city, it has made its presence felt. Bangladeshis make up nearly a quarter of all taxi drivers. Bangladeshis also have an outsized presence in the New York Police Department’s traffic enforcement division, making up around 15 percent of the city’s traffic agents, according to a union estimate.
The Trump administration this fall barred most citizens of several, mostly-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. on national security grounds. Bangladesh is not among them, but the attack prompted fears among Bangladeshis that they could be added to this list.
Even if it is not, Queens resident Syed Ullah, 76, said he is worried Trump’s rhetoric could still lead to bureaucratic slowdowns.
“He is the chief of the country,” said Ullah, who is not related to the bombing suspect. “If he says something like that, the immigration authorities, the State Department, the embassies, they will put hurdles in the way.”
