New York, NY—Today, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency and issued an Executive Order directing a cross-agency response to the newly arrived asylum seekers in New York. The mayor called for greater coordination from the Federal and State governments in responding to this situation.
Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“When the New York Immigration Coalition launched our Welcoming New York Campaign in August, we called for comprehensive coordination between the Federal, State and City governments to meet this moment. We are pleased to now see the Mayor has come around and is also calling for this desperately-needed coordination. While a coordinated response will ensure that New York City has what it needs to continue to successfully integrate asylum seekers, we still strongly condemn any plan to house asylum seekers in tents, in transit deserts, in areas prone to flooding, as autumn turns to winter.
“For the first time, Mayor Adams also talked about how to transition people from the shelter system to more permanent housing. We were glad to hear that he plans to move people stuck in shelters indefinitely to more permanent housing. Housing experts and immigrant advocates like ourselves have also suggested solutions to relieve pressure on our overburdened shelter system, and it seems that the Administration is finally listening and moving forward critical policy changes. As the Mayor explained in his remarks, New Yorkers continue to step up to support our newest arrivals, and we will continue to do so. We look forward to working with the City to implement any logical and reasonable plan to support asylum seekers to thrive in New York City.”
Background: The New York Immigration Coalition’s Welcoming New York Campaign is advocating for a coordinated City, State and Federal response to asylum seekers being sent by bus from Texas to New York.
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