NYC asks for emergency aid as influx of asylum seekers pushes city 'to the brink'
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City has submitted an emergency mutual aid request to New York State for immediate help over the weekend to shelter arriving asylum seekers.
Mayor Eric Adams made the request Friday as 3,100 asylum seekers arrived in the city over the last week, including 835 last Thursday alone.
That marked the largest single day arrival since the influx of migrants began and Adams says it is pushing NYC to the brink.
Adams said that providing services to asylum seekers could cost the city between $1.5 billion to $2 billion.
"Since last spring, the city has stepped up to welcome approximately 40,000 asylum seekers, providing them with shelter, food, and connections to a host of resources," Adams said. "We have opened 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers at breakneck speed, and done this almost entirely on our own."
But now Adams says the city is at its breaking point.
"Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York beginning this weekend," Adams said. "This type of request, reserved only for dire emergencies, asks the state for support to shelter arriving asylum seekers as the city faces an immediate need for additional capacity. Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well."
The mayor said the absence of "sorely needed federal immigration reform should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities."
Adams said the support and aid from federal and state partners is needed.
The Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless released a joint statement reiterating that the city is legally required to provide a bed to anyone in need of shelter.
"Regardless of the circumstances, these are obligations that no mayor can shirk," the statement said. "That said, Washington and Albany have so far provided only minimal financial assistance for the City to meet this moment, and all levels of government must do their part to ensure that legal obligations are met and all people in need, including asylum seekers, are provided access to safe, decent, and accessible shelter."
Jeff Goldfein, an attorney for the Legal Aid Society, said if the asylum seekers were allowed to work, it would change the dynamic.
"The federal government can solve this program overnight by giving people work authorizations," Goldfein said.
That change doesn't seem likely, but the federal government has approved $800 million in grants to cities that are taking in migrants.
So far, NYC has only received about $10 million in federal money and the city's proposed budget for 2024 doesn't set aside any money for the influx of migrants because the mayor is depending on other avenues.
"I really think it's irresponsible that we have not had a real national response to what's happening at our border," Adams said.
The governor's office has not immediately responded. As for increased federal aid, Sen. Charles Schumer is reviewing the mayor's call for federal help.
Adams announced later Friday that he will make several stops along the southern border of Mexico this weekend.
"Seeing it first hand at the southern border, I think, is going to really give him a different perspective," said Murad Awawdeh of the New York Immigration Coalition.
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