Fifty-four elected officials in New York City have sent a letter to President Joe Biden to address the influx of illegal immigrants in the city, asking him to declare a federal state of emergency so that the illegal immigrants can legally work in the country.
“We are elected officials from New York City requesting your help. Our City is experiencing an unprecedented migrant influx, with a surge of asylum seekers arriving here in numbers never seen before in history. Our City is at a breaking point,” wrote New York City Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar.
“We take pride in New York being a beacon of hope for immigrants, but the influx of migrants is so great that the City is running out of resources. New York City is being forced to reduce services for its people.”
Since Spring of 2022, buses of illegal immigrants, sent from the southern border in Texas, have arrived regularly in the city. Many are asylum seekers from Venezuela escaping the socialist country’s economic collapse, and New York elected officials have welcomed them.
While the self-declared “sanctuary city” already had difficulties housing its 60,000-plus homeless population, officials set about finding housing for tens of thousands of asylum seekers.
By October 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared a state of emergency in the city. According to his office, the illegal immigrant influx could nearly double the number of people the already overtaxed shelter system needed to serve, and cost $1 billion within a fiscal year.
“We need help, and we need it now,” Mr. Adams said. “New York City is doing our part, and now others must step up and join us.”
Emergency Powers
Last week, the city announced it would set up a shelter for 1,000 illegal immigrants in the parking lot of a state psychiatric hospital. The special use case was made possible by the state of emergency, which allows for use of additional resources without additional red tape.
A federal state of emergency would allow federal agencies to work with and fund the housing and services for the illegal immigrants.
By Catherine Yang
