Rally held to support thousands of migrants arriving in New York City
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- Activists in New York City say more needs to be done at the local, state and federal level to help the 10,000+ asylum seekers who have arrived in the city this summer.
On the steps of City Hall, there was a demand for compassion on Friday.
Activists and outreach workers are insisting that New York City needs to do more to help the waves of immigrants arriving every week as they seek asylum in the United States.
"For weeks now, our city has struggled to cope, asylum seekers have slept on the floor of intake rooms and the streets of our city when there was nowhere else to go," said council member Shanana Hanif.
More than 10,000 migrants have arrived in the city so far this summer -- many of them onboard buses sent from Texas.
Earlier this month, social services commissioners declared it a "humanitarian crisis," while promising the City Council that the needs of the migrants would be met.
"This is an interagency, all hands on deck effort where we will be tapping into our nonprofit providers to ensure asylum seekers have access to wraparound services, including legal support, health care, and education," Commissioner Gary P. Jenkins with the NYC Department of Social Services previously said.
But the homeless population is already surging.
Shelters are 99% full every night. So far, the city has pledged to provide nearly $7 million to the outreach organizations that work with the migrants.
But federal assistance has failed to materialize, despite repeated requests by Mayor Eric Adams.
"We need $10 million from the city and $10 million from the state simply to make sure that these individuals do not get lost in the system and that they get put on a path to civility, and to write and to become New Yorkers, like the rest of us," said Camille Macker with the Immigrant Advocates Response Collaborative.
RELATED | NYC unveils school plan for asylum seekers and their children bused in from Texas
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