“For many asylum seekers like me, the United States is a beacon of hope, providing refuge and safety from the violence many of us experience at home. Yet the sense of relief and security we find here quickly evaporates as we navigate an expensive and confusing court system by ourselves.”
“As doctors working on the front lines of the migrant crisis, we’ve seen firsthand the negative effects of tent cities and the forced movement of migrants across the United States. The harms are physical and psychological, and they are cumulative.”
Following the arrival of more than 27,000 asylum seekers, many of whom have struggled to find attorneys in the midst of a historic backlog of cases in New York’s immigration courts, state officials, affected families, and immigrant advocates launched a renovated campaign to guarantee statewide legal representation in deportation proceedings.
“Simply by re-designating Temporary Protected Status to include recent arrivals from Venezuela, thousands of asylum seekers would have their legal posture drastically altered, for the better. The Department of Homeland Security has the sole authority to make this change. It could happen with the flick of a pen.”
Immigrant advocates say they would prefer to continue to work with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, citing past accomplishments like the Excluded Workers Fund, and worry what a potential Lee Zeldin governorship would mean for their causes.
Strained for shelter space, the Adams administration confirmed it was exploring the possibility of using camp facilities “should they become necessary,” to house asylum seekers arriving from the Southern border. The city has relied on commercial hotels and other stopgap facilities to quickly add shelter capacity for decades, but camps would be a new sort of accommodation for families.
The city estimates that around 6,300 asylum seekers have arrived via buses from the border in recent months. In addition to finding a safe place to stay, they must navigate access to medical care, keep tabs on their ongoing immigration cases and in some cases, attempt to reunite with family members they were separated from during their journeys. Some have left the shelter system altogether, citing safety concerns.
At a Council hearing short on details, officials from Mayor Eric Adams’ administration pinned the shelter population rise on newly arriving immigrants from the Southern Border.
Immigration officials confirmed the moves to City Limits Tuesday, and lawyers say some 35 detainees have been sent from the Orange County Jail to as far away as Mississippi.
Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday doubled down on his claim that thousands of asylum-seekers have strained New York City’s homeless shelter system, causing his administration to break state law by keeping at least four families in an intake facility overnight.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
Support local, investigative journalism that has informed and empowered New Yorkers for 45 years.
