U.S. News
Adams Demands Emergency Funds from Biden as NYC Faces $12B Migrant Crisis
By Jake Beardslee · August 9, 2023
In brief…
- New York City is struggling to handle an influx of approximately 100,000 migrants since spring 2022.
- It costs NYC more than $9 million a day to house and feed mingrants and asylum seekers.
- NYC Mayor Adams called on President to declare a state of emergency and provide NYC with the funding necessary to care for the flood of migrants.
- Adams said providing services for the migrants could cost $12 billion by 2025.
- Adams is considering erecting tents in Central Park to shelter the migrants while warning that NYC's resources are limited.
New York City is struggling to accommodate a growing influx of migrants arriving from the southern border, Mayor Eric Adams declared in a press conference today.
According to Adams, New York City is spending more than $9 million every day - which equates to nearly $300 million per month to provide housing, food, and other support services for the migrants. Adams warned that if this pace continues, the total cost to the city could add up to close to $12 billion by the year 2025.
“We are facing an unprecedented state of emergency,” Adams stated. “The immigration system in this country is broken. It has been broken for decades.”
Adams faulted the lack of “real immigration reforms” in Congress and other cities’ refusal to take in more migrants. At the same time, more than 10,000 migrants have been bused to New York City and other major cities in recent months by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
“New Yorkers did not create an international humanitarian crisis,” Adams said. “But New Yorkers have been left to deal with the crisis almost entirely on our own.”
Mayor Adams called on President Biden to declare a state of emergency in New York City and provide necessary federal support to deal with the migrant crisis. Thus far, the federal government has only provided approximately $100 million to New York City to fund services for the migrants. That amount would cover ten days of cost for New York City, which has taken in an estimated 100,000 migrants since spring 2022.
Adams has begun sheltering migrants in public parks and recreation centers and is considering erecting tents in Central Park to house the wave of migrants entering the city daily.
He warned, “New Yorkers’ compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not.”