New York City, NY In a bid to address the ongoing surge of asylum-seekers, Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has unveiled a plan to limit the stays of migrant families in emergency shelters to 60 days. This announcement comes as the city grapples with a significant influx of immigrants seeking asylum in the United States.
Mayor Adams intends to send 60-day notices to migrant families with children currently residing in city shelters, urging them to seek alternative housing solutions. The city will also extend its support by providing ongoing social services to assist these families in finding new shelter. Notably, the city already limits single adult migrants to 30 days in emergency housing.
“With over 64,100 asylum seekers still in the city’s care, and thousands more migrants arriving every week, expanding this policy to all asylum seekers in our care is the only way to help migrants take the next steps on their journeys,” Mayor Adams stated in a recent press release.
This move follows a significant surge of over 120,000 migrants who have arrived in New York City in the past year, primarily due to the increased immigration activity along the U.S.-Mexico border.
New York City stands out as the only major U.S. city with a right-to-shelter law in place. In response to the recent surge of migrants, Mayor Adams has sought a temporary suspension of this requirement through the courts. He is currently facing challenges to this effort in court. Governor Kathy Hochul, also a Democrat, has expressed her support for this temporary suspension.
Furthermore, city officials are advocating for shelter rules to be suspended whenever the governor or mayor declares a state of emergency due to an influx of people seeking shelter.
The Adams administration previously moved to limit homeless shelter stays for single adult asylum-seekers to 60 days in July, with the aim of creating more space for migrant families with children. Subsequently, in September, the shelter limit for single adults was further reduced to 30 days.
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The cost of housing migrants in New York City has been substantial, with the city having already spent more than $1 billion. Mayor Adams has indicated that this cost could rise to as much as $12 billion in the coming years if additional funding and resources are not secured from the state and federal governments.
Opponents of New York City’s right-to-shelter law, along with other “sanctuary” policies, have argued that they encourage migrants who enter the country illegally to head to the Empire State.
To dissuade migrants from making the long journey to New York, Mayor Adams recently embarked on a four-day trip through Latin America. During this trip, he emphasized that the city’s shelter system is already at capacity. However, critics argue that this high-profile sojourn did little to deter more asylum-seekers from making their way to New York.
Despite the mayor’s intentions to alleviate the crisis, this move to further limit shelter stays has faced criticism from various quarters. Advocacy groups, including the New York Immigration Coalition, have expressed concerns that this policy will leave asylum-seeking families with children “out on the street.”
Murad Awawdeh, the coalition’s executive director, voiced these concerns, stating, “It adds unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, which some families will be unable to navigate. This will result in families and children ending up on the street in the middle of winter, and school attendance being interrupted.”
In conclusion, as New York City grapples with the challenges posed by an unprecedented influx of migrants, Mayor Adams’ decision to limit shelter stays for asylum-seekers raises significant questions about the city’s capacity to support these vulnerable populations. While this policy aims to address the pressing issue of overburdened shelters, it remains a subject of debate and concern among advocates and critics alike.
