City Councilmembers and advocates for migrants are accusing Mayor Eric Adams' administration of escalating efforts to evict recently arrived migrants from city shelters under his policy to limit single migrants to a 30-day stay in shelters and migrant families to 60 days.

New York Immigration Coalition president and CEO Murad Awawdeh said an additional 6,500 asylum seekers received eviction notices before the rules took effect. During a rally at City Hall Park Wednesday, he joined calls for the city to return to a “Right to Shelter” policy, without time limits.

“Without providing a real pathway to afford permanent housing, these bureaucratic measures are leaving about 15,000 of our newest neighbors homeless,” Awawdeh said.

One migrant spoke about his experience at the rally through his interpreter, saying, "We are unable to sleep due to the new regulations that have been established in the shelters. We are being expelled on a daily basis, and we feel hopeless."

Some said the policy is destabilizing for adults and families with children who can be evicted from shelter and, as a result, hundreds of children have had to leave school in the middle of the year.

“They might be in the Bronx, they might be in Queens, so many different locations,” said Churches United for Fair Housing director of organizing Bryan Pagoada. “Also so many have families and kids.”

“It makes no sense to pull those kids out of school,” said Councilmember Gail Brewer.

An investigation into the city's shelter limit policies by City Comptroller Brad Lander's office found the policies to be harmful and implemented haphazardly. Critics are pushing the City Council to pass the “Stop Shelter Evictions Act,” which would eliminate shelter time caps.

“It included not just asylum seekers but anyone in our shelter system,” said Councilmember Shahana Hanif.

A city spokesperson defended the Adams administration’s care of nearly 200,000 migrants since the spring of 2022, saying, “From day one, we have been clear that it is unsustainable to manage a population larger than most U.S. cities descending on the five boroughs in less than two years, with hundreds more arriving every day asking for shelter.”

The City Hall spokesperson also said shelter limits will help migrants become independent and reduce the significant strain on the city's shelter system.

A settlement agreement with the Legal Aid Society allows the city to limit shelter stays for migrants but forced the inclusion of exceptions, such as mothers with newborn babies.