Immigrant Advocates Demand Coordination from Mayor Adams in Ensuring Safe & Welcoming Reception for Asylum Seekers Sent to Sullivan County

New York, NY—Today, New York City Mayor Adams sent asylum seekers to hotels in Liberty and Monticello, NY. The Sullivan County Legislature Chairman released a statement opposing the move.

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:

“For centuries, people have immigrated to New York State and contributed to the communities that we all live in today. We call on elected officials in Sullivan County to embrace this legacy, and to foster a welcoming environment for asylum seekers, just as they do for the tourists and others who temporarily stay in their towns and cities. We again call on Mayor Adams to coordinate and plan with localities to ensure that we are setting up communities for success. The asylum seekers are not responsible for the chaos that Mayor Adams is sowing, and it’s to no one's benefit when county officials foment division between communities in need by falsely claiming that asylum seekers are displacing other unhoused New Yorkers in their regions. It is long past time that Mayor Adams stopped treating people seeking safety as a crisis, and started investing in an infrastructure of permanent housing, legal representation, and social service supports that will allow asylum seekers, and all New Yorkers, to build their lives here.”