Deep-blue New York plans to close 12 migrant shelters by the end of the year, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said two of New York City's hotel-turned-immigrant shelters, the Hotel Merit in Manhattan and the Quality Inn JFK in Queens, have already closed, and 10 other evacuation sites in the state have been closed. The facility is also scheduled to close by December 31st. the agency told FOX News Digital.
The 10 shelters, located in Albany, Dutchess, Erie, Orange and Westchester counties, were put into operation when the scale of the crisis was so great that cities ran out of space.
Blue Cities rush to clear migrant shelters as Trump approaches inauguration
Migrants outside one of two shelters in Brooklyn, New York City, July 24, 2024. New York state plans to close 12 migrant shelters by the end of the year, just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images, Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Additionally, New York City's vast migrant shelter on Randall Island is designed to hold up to 3,000 people and will run until February, weeks after President Trump's second term inauguration on January 20, 2025. It is scheduled to be closed.
The closures come after Adams revealed on Monday that the city was dealing with more than 223,000 immigrants and asylum seekers who arrived in New York City since spring 2022. That's about half the population of Albany, the state capital, he said.
City taxpayers were paying $352 per night per immigrant, of which only $130 went toward hotel housing. The rest was used for social services, food, cleaning and other expenses. new york post.
The mayor's office told Fox News Digital that 58,000 migrants remain in taxpayer-funded shelters. According to the paper, there are approximately 210 evacuation centers operated by the city in five wards. The city's website says the crisis could cost taxpayers about $12 billion over the next three fiscal years without policy changes.
The city blamed the closure on a decline in the number of migrants arriving in New York and thanked the federal government and the Biden-Harris administration for executive orders on the cuts.
There were 101,790 border encounters in September, the lowest number since February 2021, but there are no major signs of a significant increase in numbers since then. The Post reported that more than 600 new asylum seekers arrived in Gotham in the week ending November 10th.
Migrants head to a shelter at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York, on February 3, 2024. (Charlie Tribarrow/AFP)
A City Hall spokesperson told Fox News Digital that “city staff will assist in planning next steps for our guests as we integrate city operations.”
“Over the past two years, our team has accomplished the daunting task of providing compassionate care to twice Albany's population and saving taxpayers billions of dollars,” Adams said in a statement. said.
“We have been focused on helping people take the next step out of shelters, and that work is paying off. It is also clear that our efforts are working. The new policies we are working on, implemented today, will build on our success and save taxpayers millions of dollars. It will help even more immigrants take the next step toward achieving the American dream.”
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Adams also clarified that immigrant families who have been issued a second 60-day eviction notice can stay in the same shelter they were previously assigned if they still need more time within the system. .
He said the measure would save “millions of taxpayer dollars,” make it easier for children to continue attending the same public school, and save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars spent busing students to school. It was advertised as saving dollars.
A migrant caravan walks through Tapachula, Mexico on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente)
But the loosening of eviction rules for families is a no-brainer for a group of about 50 left-wing activists who stormed City Hall on Wednesday during a public hearing on the Adult Protection Rule, which would permanently remove adult immigrants from city shelters after 30 days. It wasn't enough. .
“Immigrants are welcome here, but President Trump's policies are not!” Members of the Jewish Movement for Racial and Economic Justice said, “Mayor Adams: Stop the shelter evictions! “,” he shouted from the mezzanine, unfurling three banners that read “Let's keep all New Yorkers here” and “Housing Justice Now.”
The group was removed from the room approximately two minutes later. The group said in a statement that the eviction rule is a “cruel and destabilizing policy” and a direct violation of the city's controversial, decades-old right-to-refuge rule. This rule was originally enacted with the premise of protecting the homeless.
Migration flows have slowed in recent months, but some experts fear migrants may try to cross the border as a last resort before President Trump cracks down on illegal border crossings. has been expressed.
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Pro-immigrant demonstrators at City Hall on Tuesday demanded an end to all immigrant evictions. (Jews for Racial and Economic Justice)
For example, about 1,500 migrants have formed a caravan in southern Mexico, just above the Guatemala border, hoping to cross the border before President Trump takes office.
President Trump has vowed to close the southern border and carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, appoint hardline South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, and appoint Tom Homan as the new Secretary of Homeland Security. Become a chief minister. Border Emperor. ”
He also would end the Biden administration's parole program, which allows immigrants to enter the country through expanded “legal channels,” and shut down the Biden administration's CBP One app, which allows immigrants to apply for asylum. I promised. In Mexico.
