Mayor Eric Adams has asked the New York Supreme Court to temporarily suspend the “Right to Shelter” law, which states that the city is obligated to give shelter to single migrants entering the city. Since the spring of 2022, over 118,000 migrants have arrived in the city, primarily sent by Texas Governor Greg Abbott from the southern border. At the beginning of October, Mayor Adams declared a state of emergency and called the mass arrival of migrants a “humanitarian crisis.” The city has started to open reticketing centers in order to send migrants to other major cities, such as Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles.
Between 2010 and 2019, nearly half a million migrants arrived in New York City, compared to the 118,000 just since last spring. According to Mayor Adams, the cost of caring for these migrants will be $12 billion over the next three years, having already cost the city $5 billion. At the beginning of October 2023, Mayor Adams declared a state of emergency and called for state and federal funding to help with the influx. New York State has already given $1 billion and plans to provide an additional $1 billion to aid the city in managing the crisis.
Most immigrants arriving to the city are from Latin America, specifically Venezuela and Haiti. Over the past few years, Venezuela has experienced a disastrous economic collapse. Alongside political unrest, this has forced many Venezuelans to immigrate to the U.S., mostly moving to New York City. Since the collapse began, 7 million have left the country, with 500,000 Venezuelans immigrating to the United States. President Biden recently made 472,000 Venezuelans eligible for temporary protected status. In addition, almost 2 million Haitians have had to leave the country due to gang warfare and the effects of the 2010 earthquake.
Under the seminal case, Callahan v. Carey, New York City is required to provide shelter for any single homeless person who requests it, including migrants. Now, with the migrant crisis reaching 18 months, Mayor Adams is asking legislators to temporarily suspend the law. Advocacy groups such as the Coalition for the Homeless and Legal Aid Society have condemned the move, saying that the move is “damaging” protections for the homeless. According to Democracy Now, “Street homelessness would balloon to a level unseen in our city since the Great Depression.” Mayor Adams defended his decision by saying the city is “at capacity” at shelters and hotels where migrants are housed. Currently, there are 194 shelters run by the public hospital system.
The city is no longer providing beds for single adults who have reached either the 30-day or 60-day limit at migrant shelters. According to Mayor Adams’ spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak, those who have left shelters and want to return must reapply and remain in waiting areas, located in Astoria and The Bronx. Around 15,600 have received a limit notice, and approximately 1,000 migrants have reapplied for shelter. In these waiting areas, migrants are provided mats to sleep on the floor due to a lack of space. Despite the ruling only applying to those who reached their shelter limit, many first-time asylum seekers are having trouble finding shelter. Amongst migrants, there is mass confusion about where to go for shelter. Many who travel all over the city to find shelter are sent to reticketing centers or shelters at capacity, forcing them to stay in waiting areas or outside the shelters. For example, many migrants are sleeping outside of the Roosevelt Hotel, because the hotel currently being used as an arrival center is at capacity. For those who are unable to find a bed for the night, migrants are then left to go around all five boroughs to find shelter.
Much of criticism towards Mayor Adams and his response to the crisis has come from other Democrats. Representative Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) has criticized the administration’s lack of communication with community leaders. He calls Adam’s response “a failure at every government level” and slams his move to end the right-to-shelter as “not taking a humanitarian approach.” Other Democrats have proposed and backed other methods of quelling the crisis. Governor Kathy Hochul used SUNY campuses over the summer to shelter migrants across the state. Democrat Representatives, such as Bowman, have supported the move.
