“The suspect is a lawful permanent resident who benefited from extended family chain migration,” the spokesman said. “People are asking: ‘Are we going to have Ice looking for somebody all the time?’”Ī spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Monday evening that Ullah had been admitted to the US in 2011 on an F43 family immigrant visa. “One person did something terrible and the whole community has to suffer,” Alam said. He said he was already receiving calls from worried Bangladeshi Americans, both in Kensington and in communities in Queens. Moinul Alam, the president of the Bangladeshi American Center of North America, a nonprofit organization based in Kensington, Brooklyn, said Ullah’s attempt was “a big concern – because I know for sure by my heart we don’t stand behind any of this stupidity”. Given Ullah was born in Bangladesh, some said the attack could heap more pain on the community, with many fearful of an increased police presence – and potentially deportations. Many people of Bangladeshi origin are already beset by poverty – the median wage is over $22,000 less than the city-wide average – and are struggling to take advantage of the American dream.
