Mayor Eric Adams warned of a strain on city resources Monday with the expectation a new surge of migrants would soon be arriving in the city amid the expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era immigration restriction, on Wednesday.
However, the Supreme Court issued a last-minute ruling that left the policy in place for now.
“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I’m not going to give the impression that this new influx is not going to impact our basic services,” said Adams on before the ruling at an unrelated press conference Monday.
What You Need To Know
- A last minute Supreme Court ruling has temporarily halted the expiration of Title 42, an immigration restriction that was set to expire on Wednesday
- Following the ruling, Mayor Adams repeated his call for state and federal lawmakers to help support the thousands of migrants already in the city
- Over 31,000 asylum seekers have come to the city already with more than 21,000 in the shelter system
- The city has opened 60 emergency shelters, four humanitarian relief centers and two welcome centers
Adams said that he will be closely monitoring the court case but noted that migrants continue to take a toll on the city’s resources.
“But regardless of the outcome, New York City has received 800 asylum seekers in just the past four days and it’s time for our state and federal partners to act. We need financial resources to continue serving the tens of thousands currently in our care and all those still arriving every day,” said the mayor after the ruling came down.
Officials earlier this year said that the city would spend $1 billion on the migrant crisis.
Adams said that without financial support for any new migrants, the city would see an impact on city services like education, sanitation, and public safety.
“I have to return to the drawing board and now have to reconfigurate every service we’re providing in the city based on what is about to happen in this city,” said Adams on Monday.
Adams said that without Title 42 the city could expect up to 1,000 migrants a week.
He demanded that the state and federal governments support cities who have welcomed thousands of migrants.
“This is unfair to all of our cities to go through this without any help from the national government and the state government,” the mayor said, while citing cities like Chicago and Washington D.C. as destinations for arriving migrants.
“I’ve been frustrated throughout my life in public service. I’ve never been more frustrated than now,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul punted responsibility for the migrants to the federal government, citing ongoing conversations with the White House.
“I’m working with other governors on this to get the White House to understand that this is crying out for a federal response,” Hochul said.
The governor said that the state’s support might not be financial but has provided legal aid and activated upwards of 800-national guardsmen daily toward the effort.
Over 31,000 asylum seekers have come to the city already with more than 21,000 still in the city’s care. As a result, officials have opened 60 emergency shelters, four humanitarian relief centers and two welcome centers.