Mayor Eric Adams of New York City, on Tuesday, revealed his upcoming trip to Latin America, where he intends to discourage people from seeking asylum in the city due to the substantial surge of migrants, which has placed immense pressure on the city’s shelter system and financial resources.
In the coming week, the Democratic mayor is scheduled to visit Mexico, Ecuador, and Colombia on a four-day journey. The city has accommodated nearly 120,000 migrants over the past year, with hundreds arriving each day, seeking housing and job opportunities.
‘We want to give an honest assessment of what we are experiencing here in this city,’ said Adams. ‘We are at capacity.’
‘We’re going to tell them that coming to New York doesn’t mean you’re going to stay in a five-star hotel. It doesn’t mean that, the mere fact that you come here, you automatically are going to be allowed to work,’ he said.
The mayor, Eric Adams, has consistently called for an immediate shift in federal immigration policy and appealed for funding to assist the city in handling the wave of arriving migrants.
Read also: Tinubu Finally Returns To Abuja From New York, Paris
He estimates that these expenses, which encompass hotel rentals, the construction of new emergency shelters, and the provision of government services to asylum seekers, could reach $12 billion.
The journey is set to commence on Wednesday in Mexico, where Adams will participate in the North Capital Forum and hold meetings with government officials.
From there, he will proceed to Quito, Ecuador, for further discussions before continuing his travels to Bogotá, Colombia, and finally reaching the perilous Darien Gap, a hazardous leg of the route taken by many migrants on their way to the U.S.
In response to overcrowding, Mayor Adams has recently taken action to tighten shelter rules in New York, limiting adult migrants to a 30-day stay in city-administered facilities.
Furthermore, the city has initiated legal proceedings to contest a long-standing agreement that mandates shelter provision for all who request it. On Tuesday, the city formally requested a judge to consider suspending this rule during emergencies when the shelter population surges.
Officials in cities and states such as New York and Illinois have pressed the federal government to ease the process of obtaining work permits for migrants. These permits would enable migrants to financially support themselves, including affording food and housing.
In response to the demand, the Biden administration recently granted temporary legal status to an estimated 472,000 Venezuelans residing in the United States, which will simplify the process of obtaining work authorisation for them.
Mayor Adams and New York Governor Kathy Hochul have jointly announced $38 million in new state funding designed to facilitate the connection of migrants with legal services.
However, the acceleration of work permits for migrants in a broad context would require an act of Congress to shorten the obligatory six-month waiting period for work permits for asylum-seekers who cross the border without authorization. Given the split control of Congress, the likelihood of such legislation seems limited.
Chicago is also gearing up to dispatch a delegation to the Texas border with Mexico. The delegation will engage in meetings with government officials and nongovernmental organizations, aiming to provide migrants with a more truthful depiction of what they might encounter upon reaching Chicago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first deputy chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, has indicated that the Texas border trip will have a dual purpose, one of which is to inform migrants about the harsh Chicago winters.
‘We want to manage the number of people that are coming and staying in Chicago,’ she said.