New York City’s Immigrant Crisis: 2,200 Asylum Seekers Enter Shelter System in One Week

NEW YORK — A total of 2,200 immigrants joined New York City’s shelter system in one week, according to Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom.

“Just last week, 2,200 new asylum seekers passed through our system,” increasing the number of immigrants in the city’s care to more than 45,800, including children, to whom it provides food, basic health and education services in addition to shelter. for minors, among others.

According to Williams-Isom, more than 72,000 immigrants have arrived in New York in the last ten months and although until a few days ago the majority came from the US-Mexico border, sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott in this At the moment they are also arriving from various states on their own through buses and airports.

Likewise, the vice mayor indicated in her weekly conference to offer data on the flow of immigrants, that in total New York currently has more than 95,000 people under its care, including immigrants and homeless New Yorkers.

The crisis created by the arrival of thousands of immigrants led the city to open 157 emergency sites, including nine humanitarian aid centers, and send new arrivals to hotels in upstate New York counties, some of which have They have shown resistance and have gone to court to stop this action by Mayor Eric Adams.

This past weekend the city sent 105 immigrants to Albany, the state capital, and is finalizing the procedures to send others to Buffalo, also in the north of the state.

“I would imagine that people are probably used to having months and months to plan for something like this. We don’t have months and months to plan for it,” Williams-Isom said.

“This city continues to do whatever it takes to support asylum seekers, but we’ve reached a point where the system is breaking down and so we want to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to make sure that we’re able to provide the quality of care we want for them and New Yorkers,” the deputy mayor further stated.

The city is evaluating 750 locations as possible sites to locate immigrants.

In addition, the city has asked a judge to strike down a 40-year-old measure that has provided housing to anyone who requests it, something organizations like the Legal Aid Society and homeless advocates oppose.