Immigrant Advocates Demand Federal Government to Step Up & Increase Support for Asylum Seekers in New York

New York, NY—Today, the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security sent an “assessment team” to New York City to evaluate the ability of the state and city to handle the ongoing arrivals of asylum seekers.

Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“This past weekend marked the anniversary of the first buses arriving at Port Authority, and, still, the Federal government has made very little progress in delivering Humanitarian Parole or providing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to these asylum seekers. While the Biden Administration allocated some vital federal resources last year, more needs to be done to help our newest arrivals get on the road to self-sufficiency and begin to contribute to our economy and our communities. We call on the Biden Administration to take immediate action in delivering more resources, as well as accelerate providing humanitarian parole, designate and re-designation of TPS applications to newly arrived asylum seekers and individuals whose applications are pending due to lengthy backlogs. It’s long past time for the Biden administration to do more to bolster New York’s ability to welcome people with dignity and respect and integrate them into the fabric of our city and state."