Orange County Asks Judge to Extend Ban on NYC Relocation of Illegal Immigrants

Migrants who had been sent to upstate counties by New York City Mayor Eric Adams sit in the front yard of Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, N.Y., on May 15, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

The Orange County government asked a judge on June 9 to extend a stay on the relocation of illegal immigrants that was arranged by New York City, according to a court filing.

If granted, the request—formally called a preliminary injunction—will make the ban effective for the duration of the county’s lawsuit against the city, according to county attorney Richard Golden.

A temporary stay was granted by a county supreme court judge on May 15, days after New York Mayor Eric Adams bused 186 illegal immigrants to two hotels in the Town of Newburgh.

In the same filing, the county also asked the judge to deny the city’s request to dismiss the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by the county on May 12, argued that New York City had no authority to run a homeless shelter outside of its boundary without due process; it asked the county supreme court to reserve any relocations already done and ban any future arrangements.

The two hotels that accepted illegal immigrants from the city—Crossroads Hotel and Ramada by Wyndham Newburgh/West Point—are also defendants in the lawsuit.

New York City responded in a June 2 court filing that it could legally transfer individuals to hotels outside of its boundary and that such an arrangement did not amount to a homeless shelter.

It asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit in the same filing.

The city has seen a surge of illegal immigrants since last spring—during a single week in May, there were 5,600 new arrivals—and the tide will only rise following the recent expiration of Title 42, a pandemic-era policy that allowed for quickly expelling illegal immigrants for public health reasons, according to the filing.

To accommodate the influx, the city has stretched its resources to the breaking point, the filing says.

Illegal immigrants sit outside the Crossroads Hotel in Newburgh, N.Y., on May 15, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Orange County reiterated in a June 9 filing that the hotel arrangement by the city mirrored the operation of homeless shelters, citing elements such as the hiring of a site operator, the rules for guest conduct and curfews, and the availability of laundry, food, and legal services.

The county also asked the city for hotel contracts and funding sources in preparation for a fuller rebuttal.

Potential Harm

In asking for a preliminary injunction, the county argued that if the city is allowed to send more illegal immigrants to the county as the legal battle played out, its residents will suffer harm.

Many illegal immigrants are expected to remain in the county after the months-long city-sponsored hotel stays come to an end, which will strain local resources, the county argued.

Social services commissioner Darcie Miller said in a letter of support that the county had no infrastructure to house or care for the transferred immigrants.

As of the end of April, all 386 shelter beds in the county were occupied, according to Miller, so if the city is allowed to continue its relocation plan, the county might be forced to pay third-party providers to temporarily house these individuals

Given that the county lacks affordable housing and already pays rental rates above fair market value for some disadvantaged populations, an additional influx will only make the problem worse, she said.

Sleeping cots at the Middletown Warming Station in Middletown, N.Y., on Nov. 20, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

It’s expected that during their stay in the county, some individuals will seek work “off the books,” oftentimes in places with low safety standards; when they seek emergency services, the burden will fall on the county and its residents, according to the county’s court filing.

Moreover, the city has not provided the county with background information on the individuals who are staying at the two hotels per a previous court order. This has made it difficult for the county to separate genuine asylum seekers, who are entitled to certain benefits under the law, from other illegal immigrants, , Miller said.

Other Lawsuits

Since May 11—the day when Adams sent the first busload of illegal immigrants to Orange County—multiple lawsuits have been filed on both sides and interest groups at the state and federal levels.

Aside from the above lawsuit, the county also sued two Newburgh hotels for an alleged violation of a state of emergency issued by County Executive Steve Neuhaus.

On May 8, Neuhaus announced an executive order to prohibit hotels, motels, and other short-term rentals in the county from housing illegal immigrants in arrangements made by New York City.

Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus delivers the State of County address in Goshen, N.Y., on April 19, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

The Town of Newburgh also sued the two hotels, alleging that they violated the town code by converting themselves into long-term residential facilities without due permitting process.

Both the county and town also filed lawsuits at the federal level.

In return, the two Newburgh hotels, along with several others in the region, filed a federal lawsuit against Orange County and other municipalities to challenge the legality of the state emergency orders.

Several counties, including Rockland, issued similar executive orders to that issued by Neuhaus.

In another federal lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the judge issued a preliminary injunction on June 6 against the state of emergency orders in Orange and Rockland counties.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of five illegal immigrants who wish to relocate to or have already arrived in Orange County from New York City.

On June 7, New York City filed a lawsuit against 30 upstate counties and towns, arguing that defendant municipalities abused executive powers to block its lawful relocation of illegal immigrants.