For days now, recently arrived immigrants have waited day and night outside the Roosevelt Hotel in Midtown hoping to be assigned a bed in the city’s shelter system. And for weeks now, Mayor Eric Adams has said that there is no room anywhere and he is trying to prevent the arrival of more immigrants.
The scene outside the hotel turned migrant shelter and intake center highlights that saturation in the homeless shelter system has reached record levels. City officials and activists alike say the situation is heartbreaking.
But some accuse city officials of cashing in on the lines outside the Roosevelt Hotel for a campaign to demand more resources from the state and federal governments to deal with the crisis and discourage more migrants from entering the United States across the border. south.
“Mayor Adams should not be using asylum seekers as a tool to gain the attention of the Biden administration or discourage asylum seekers from coming to New York,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the New York Immigration Coalition. York.
He added that the city must do more to free up space in shelters and keep migrants off the streets. “It’s hard to imagine that there aren’t enough beds to house the people the Adams administration is leaving on the streets,” Awawdeh told The Associated Press in a statement.
In a press conference on Thursday, a deputy mayor rejected that assertion.
“I don’t think I or anyone else in this administration would use people for politicking,” said Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom.
He stated that the city has been conducted “with humanity and compassion”, and that the shelter system is at a “breaking point”.
City officials say the number of migrants who have arrived since spring 2022 is approaching 100,000, overwhelming the capacity of the shelter system designed to accommodate tens of thousands fewer people.
Meanwhile. The city has begun turning to state universities for their students to help with the complicated asylum application process for the thousands of immigrants who have come to the city in search of housing and work.
Students who participate in this initiative in the fall will earn credits, added Deputy Mayor Williams-Ison.
The official indicated that shortly after the city opened the Assistance Center for asylum applications a month ago, more than 1,300 immigrants have already been assisted, who have also received help from thirty law firms that do pro bono work. as well as interpreters.
“Throughout this crisis, New Yorkers have made an effort to help their brothers in need and continue to do so,” said the deputy mayor, who was accompanied by representatives of various public and private universities, led by New York University (NYU ).
2023-08-03 11:53:00
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