New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency on Friday in response to the huge influx of migrants into the city. It will cost the city $1 billion this year, American media reports.
“We are dealing with a situation where more people are arriving in New York City than we can accommodate right away, including families with babies and toddlers,” Adams said, according to CNN. “Once we accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers on buses, we will have more people in our reception system than ever before.”
Today, there are more than 61,000 people in city shelters, according to the New York Times. Some 17,000 migrants from Latin America have arrived since April.
The mayor is therefore asking for state and federal help to fund housing and services for migrants stranded in the city’s homeless shelters. The city is also moving forward with plans to build a tent shelter on Randalls Island and is also negotiating with cruise lines to accommodate migrants on boats.
In New York, 42 emergency shelters have already been set up and 5,000 children have already been enrolled in schools, Adams said. The state of emergency should help set up new services more quickly. Adams is also trying to relocate migrants to other cities.
The mayor also stresses that New York remains a “sanctuary city” where illegal migrants need not fear persecution. But it is simply impossible to manage such an influx.
Adams has been criticized within the New York City Council for his handling of the refugee crisis, especially the plan to accommodate migrants in ships and tents. Critics are calling for empty hotels to be used and for people in shelters to move into permanent homes.
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