Nearly 2,000 migrants sheltered in New York City tent shelters are being transferred to a nearby high school, but students have had to switch to remote learning due to disruption, residents and local politicians are saying. causing anger.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams' office announced that 1,900 migrants are being removed from tent shelters at Floyd Bennett Field for safety reasons due to expected storms and high winds. According to the New York Daily News, Adams told reporters. He claimed it was done out of “excessive caution.”
“We want to keep people safe,” he said.
However, moving them to James Madison High School has been controversial, with the school confirming that it is being used as a “temporary overnight respite center” and will be closed on Wednesday as a result. students have been forced to “pivot” to distance learning. result.
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January 9, 2024: Other New York City politicians said it was already known that Floyd Bennett Field was not sustainable for immigrants. ((Photo by Spencer Pratt/Getty Images))
Republican Rep. Inna Vernikov said in a statement that the move was “unacceptable” and argued that Floyd Bennett Field “is not a sustainable housing facility.”
“Our public schools should be places for children to learn and grow, and they were never intended to be shelters or emergency housing facilities,” she said.
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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander (D) said placing immigrants at Floyd Bennett Field is a “mismanagement that is all too present in City Hall's approach to shelter and services for asylum seekers.” It highlights the waste of money.”
The New York Post reported that the move infuriated parents of students at the school. one woman I shouted to the arriving bus, “How would you feel if we kicked all the kids out of school tomorrow!”
January 9, 2024: Approximately 2,000 immigrants are evacuated by school bus from tents at Floyd Bennett Field to a local high school in preparation for a storm estimated to have wind speeds of more than 110 mph. ((Photo by Spencer Pratt/Getty Images))
In response to the report, Adamu's office said the measures were a proactive measure to ensure the safety of people living and working in migrant facilities, and that “possible weather conditions have stabilized. “This will continue until the facility can be used again.”
Adams' office announced that more than 160,000 migrants have flooded into “sanctuary” cities since mid-2022, some of them arriving by bus directly from Texas. Officials said the city was overwhelmed, and Adams warned that the crisis could “ruin” the city.
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He joined other Democratic mayors in calling on the federal government to do more, including providing more funding, faster processing of work permits and assistance with resettlement. Meanwhile, his city cut budgets for education, police and other departments last year.
Mayor Eric Adams speaks during direct media availability at City Hall on Tuesday, January 2, 2024 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams, New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
He also placed restrictions on when and where migrant buses could drop off passengers, and called on other mayors in the region to do the same. Separately, the administration filed a lawsuit seeking $700 million against the shipping companies involved in dropping off the migrants.
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But Texas supported the busing strategy, arguing it was necessary to alleviate the strain on border towns that take in more immigrants than cities like New York City.
“Until then [President] “Biden will reverse course on our open borders policy and Texas will continue to transport migrants to these cities,” he said. “We have no intention of rolling back our efforts to secure our borders.”
Meanwhile, Fox News reported this week that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Border Patrol agents that “more than 85%” of the migrants they are currently encountering are being released into the interior of the United States.
