New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office has responded to New York City’s request for help, as it tries to shelter and provide for almost 100,000 illegal immigrants, with a long list of things the state has already provided, saying that a lack of coordination from city officials on various fronts is to blame for delays in the process.
“In some instances, the City has failed to accept the State’s offers of assistance or recommendations for State facilities. The City has not made timely requests for regulatory changes, has not always promptly shared necessary information with the State, has not implemented programs in a timely manner, and has not consulted the State before taking certain actions,” the letter reads.
“While Governor Hochul and Acting Commissioner Guinn appreciate Mayor [Eric] Adams’s public acknowledgement of the State’s significant role in the crisis response, the City can and should do more to act in a proactive and collaborative manner with the State.”
The Epoch Times has reached out the mayor’s office for a response.
The Tuesday letter makes mention of several offers of help the state has made, to which the city was not prepared to take up; for instance, after committing $25 million to provide 1,250 households with one year of permanent housing, the city could only find 17 families willing to move.
Last week, the state advanced New York City $250 million as part of the $1.5 billion promised as part of the fiscal year 2024 budget so that the city could reimburse staffing, cleaning, security, maintenance, shelter, transportation, and other supply costs. The letter states that the city has been slow to submit cost reimbursements, and has so far only asked for $138 million of its costs to be covered.
The letter also notes that it was the state’s idea to set up tents to house the illegal immigrants, rather than using hotels or shelters meant for the city’s homeless, and that “the City took nearly a year to act upon the State’s recommendation.” The city also “delayed the 180-day waiting period for many migrants” by “not acting promptly” in sending state officials its proposal for an asylum work program.
The governor’s office noted that the city makes numerous ongoing requests from the state, and the state has already given “extraordinary support thus far.”
Meanwhile, the New York City mayor has for months been asking for federal assistance in funding and work permits.
Since the spring of 2022, buses of illegal immigrants, sent from the southern border in Texas, have been arriving regularly in the city.
New York City has declared itself a “sanctuary city,” one of several across the nation, meaning it will not cooperate with federal authorities to arrest and deport illegal immigrants.
$12 Billion Problem
According to the mayor’s office, $1.45 billion has already been spent on housing and feeding illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2023, nearly equal to the budgets of the Sanitation Department, Parks Department, and FDNY combined.Mr. Adams said costs will grow to $12 billion over the next three fiscal years.
The requests for help make no reference to curbing the number of illegal immigrants entering the country or city, nor do city officials differentiate between legal and illegal immigration.
“We are past our breaking point. New Yorkers’ compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not,” Mr. Adams said, noting that the city was spending $383 per family per night, coming out to roughly $3.6 billion per year at minimum as the number of incoming illegal immigrants is expected to increase. Local news made national papers when hundreds were found sleeping outside on the floor.
