New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, announced a plan on Monday to house illegal immigrants in houses of worship and private homes as the city struggles to cope with arrivals from the southern border.
With Republican governors in Southern border states sending illegal immigrants north to sanctuary cities like New York, Adams has turned to the faith community, proposing a plan to utilize houses of worship as temporary shelters for asylum-seekers as the city struggles to cope.
“As we continue to tackle this humanitarian crisis, I’m proud that through this new partnership with New York Disaster Interfaith Services, New York City’s faith community will be able to provide shelter to asylum-seekers in need at houses of worship throughout the five boroughs,” Adams said in a statement on Monday.
Under the two-year partnership, up to 50 houses of worship or faith-based spaces will provide overnight accommodation for up to 19 single adult men at each location. The normal activities of these spaces will continue during the day, while the city plans to establish five “daytime centers” for additional programming.
The five daytime centers will provide programming and support for asylum seekers during the day. The program aims to host nearly 1,000 asylum seekers and potentially expand further.
By implementing this program, the city aims to increase its capacity to accommodate illegal immigrants by nearly 1,000 beds, and Adams said it will also “connect asylum seekers with local communities.”
Adams said he envisions “the next step” to include expanding beyond faith-based spaces to sheltering illegal immigrants in the spare rooms of private residences, utilizing spare rooms in households of everyday New Yorkers.
“There are residents who are suffering right now because of economic challenges. They have spare rooms,” Adams said.
Adams suggested this might be a way to divert the significant financial resources required for this crisis from “the pockets of corporations” to everyday New Yorkers and houses of worship.
The mayor has angered New York county authorities by busing illegal immigrants from the city to other parts of the state without notification—Adams has criticized the governors of Southern border states for similarly sending illegal immigrants to his city. The county authorities have demanded that Adams immediately cease his operations.
Adams has said the entire state should participate in a “decompression strategy.” Several New York counties have already declared states of emergency in an attempt to block the mayor’s efforts.
Adams Says the White House Turned Its Back on NYC Crisis
The city has already spent over $1.2 billion on the crisis this fiscal year and is projected to spend over $4.3 billion by the end of June 2024. The federal government has allocated less than $40 million in funding to New York City for the crisis.
Adams, along with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, lawmakers, and progressive labor and business leaders, recently urged President Joe Biden to grant expedited work authorization for asylum seekers via executive orders to allow illegal immigrants currently on public assistance after flooding the area since last year to be able to work and alleviate financial pressure on social services.
Adams criticized the White House last month, signaling a split in party ranks. “The president and the White House have failed this city,” he said, adding that the state’s budget could not handle the crisis and blamed the Biden administration for turning “its back on New York City.”
According to government data, New York state ranks among the top ten states in terms of highest unemployment rates, with a labor participation rate of 60.8 percent.
As of now, New York City is already caring for over 46,000 asylum-seekers, a number that continues to rise. The city has supported over 72,000 asylum seekers since last spring, according to the release.
The surge in illegal immigration is partly attributed to GOP governors transporting illegal immigrants to Democrat-led cities in opposition to Biden’s immigration policies. This has resulted in a crisis at the U.S.–Mexico border, exacerbated by the recent end of the pandemic-era Title 42 immigration policy.
Over 5 million illegal immigrants have crossed into the United States since Biden took office.
“This influx of asylum seekers is a serious crisis, one that New York City is facing largely on our own. It’s unfair and it’s not right that New York is going through this,” Adams said.
New York has already spent more than $1.2 billion on addressing this crisis. Previously, the mayor had proposed using school gyms as temporary housing for illegal immigrants.
The mayor reiterated the urgent need for real immigration reform, recognizing that the current approach is unsustainable.
