The New York City mayor Eric Adams and his office are at loggerheads with the New York Governor Kathy Hochul and US President Joe Biden as the city faces pressure to accommodate more than 58,000 asylum seekers.
Adams claims that New York City is ill-equipped to take care of more than 58,000 asylum seekers now in the city’s care and are forced to turn school gyms and places of worship into shelters from migrants, at times drawing backlash from local communities.
Migrants are sleeping on the streets as many hotels and shelters in New York City have reached capacity.
Adams, a Democrat himself, says the Biden administration has not given the city adequate resources to tackle the migrant crisis. He also says that the Department of Homeland Security is not listening to his request for fast-tracking migrants for work authorization so that they can provide for themselves and their families.
“We’ve been saying it since last year: We need the federal government to allow asylum seekers to work, so they can provide for themselves and their families,” Adams was quoted as saying by NBC News.
A report by the news outlet said that the Department of Homeland Security feels their hands are tied because of several rules. Firstly, asylum seekers must wait for 180 days before applying for work authorization and the US Congress can change it by changing the law.
Adams fired back by urging the administration to consider granting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to certain nationalities. This would be extended to those from Venezuela, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Sudan, South Sudan, Cameroon and other nations but the Department of Homeland Security feels it would spur another wave of migrants to flock to the US as asylum seekers, thus exacerbating the migrant crisis.
“There is a concern that granting TPS to one nationality will spur others from that country to come here. The concern is that word will get out, even through misinformation, and others will think they too can work and live here,” an official familiar with the development was quoted as saying by NBC News.
However, Adams feels that with TPS asylum seekers can apply for work permits instantly thus easing the burden on the city’s resources.
Adams has also accused the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) of not speeding up the processing time to approve work permits after migrants apply but the USCIS fired back saying that their processing time has decreased.
The homeland security officials mentioned above also pointed out that illegal migrants have entered New York undetected and are not actually seeking asylum through US immigration courts, making them ineligible for asylum.
Also the homeland security officials highlighted that migrants, if they have made an appointment through the CBP One app or enrolling in a parole process designated for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua, can apply immediately for work authorization.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced $77 million for cities and border cities and communities who are absorbing migrants. The total funding has now crossed $770 million and US President Joe Biden has urged the Congress to approve more than $600 million more for these cities and communities.
Adams said New York will have to foot a $12 billion bill if it doesn’t get more help to shelter the migrants.
Meanwhile, another divide has emerged between Democrats Adams and state governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, who said that the city’s mayor has been late in communicating with the state and in his action to resolve the crisis.
“The city can and should do more to act in a proactive and collaborative manner with the state,” Hochul told Adams. But Hochul also said Biden must make moves to “expedite work authorizations”, “provide the state and the city with significant financial assistance” and allow the city to use federal buildings as shelters.
“I cannot ask New Yorkers to pay for what is fundamentally a federal responsibility. I urge the federal government to take prompt and significant action today to meet its obligation to New York state,” Hochul said.
www.news18.com
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