NY Gov. Hochul calls on President Biden to provide more assistance with migrants crisis
Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on President Biden to take executive action and direct additional federal resources to the State of New York amid the continuing influx of asylum seekers here.
In an address early Thursday afternoon, Hochul detailed several requests she made in a letter to the White House.
Those requests include expedited work authorizations for asylum seekers, financial assistance for New York City and New York State and the use of federal land and facilities for temporary shelter sites.
The governor has also requested Title 32 designation to provide federal funding for the nearly 2,000 New York National Guard members currently providing logistical and operational support across the State.
“New York cannot continue to do this on its own,” Hochul said. “It is past time for President Biden to take action and provide New York with the aid needed to continue managing this ongoing crisis.”
Both Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have been pressuring the White House for months for more help.
In response to Hochul’s address, the White House released a statement saying it will continue to work with New York:
“We will continue to partner with communities across the country to ensure they can received the support they need. Only Congress can provide additional funding for these efforts, which this administration has already requested, and only Congress can fix the broken immigration system.”
A Siena College poll earlier this week reported that most New Yorkers view the migrant situation as a serious problem and are critical of officials’ response.
In addition to her requests from the White House, Hochul also announced the state is expanding a program to help asylum seekers find jobs.
The governor is directing the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) to help connect asylum seekers to employment opportunities so they can start working right after obtaining federal work authorization.
The state is providing an online form where asylum seekers with work authorization in New York can register for assistance.
And DOL career experts will work with asylum seekers who register to assess skills, work history, education, career interests and more, and connect them with employers across the state.
Protests have been continuing over the city’s handling of the issue, as New York struggles to handle the estimated 100,000 migrants who have arrived in the city since last year after crossing the southern U.S. border.
The city is legally obligated to find shelter for anyone needing it.
With homeless shelters full, Adams has taken over hotels, put cots in recreational centers and school gyms and created temporary housing in huge tents.
On Sunday the city opened a large relief center on Randall’s Island.
It is the second time the site has been used to house asylum seekers in less than a year.
The Island is once again home to a giant emergency shelter with cots for three thousand adult asylum seekers – men and women – this time on soccer fields.