New York City officials are continuing their demands that the Biden administration and Gov. Kathy Hochul do more to help with the city’s migrant crisis.
A New York City committee hearing, officially titled The Experience of Black Migrants in New York City, was held on Tuesday to address the migrant crisis currently plaguing the city, specifically in regards to the high influx of Africans arriving and in need of housing and other government services. The hours-long hearing was also rife with accusations that African migrants are given worse treatment than their Spanish-speaking counterparts.
“[African migrants] may face increased scrutiny, xenophobia, and racism just by nature of being a black immigrant,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams on Tuesday, as he called for equitable treatment for all migrants. He added that he wanted “to push for the White House to do more and Gov. Hochul to do more, because they are not.”
“New York City cannot handle this by themselves” he continued.
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 04: A work crew continues an environmental project on the Gowanus Canal in the rapidly gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood of Gowanus where a new migrant shelter is set to open on March 04, 2024 in New York City. The shelter, which comes after New York City has struggled with an influx of tens of thousands of migrants, will house up to 400 single men in a former brewery and has been met with resistance from many in the community. Like other recent shelters housing migrants, resident groups have complained that the city has not informed them of the details of the facilities nor given them enough advance notice of the plan. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The hearing came as New York City continues to face dire financial strains due to the migrant crisis. The city has taken in around 160,000 asylum seekers since April 2022, forcing leaders to make substantial budget cuts in order to weather the burden.
Last year, Mayor Eric Adams announced sweeping budget cuts for government services in order to pay for the influx of illegal aliens taking residence in the city. At the time, Adams said the city was reaching a “breaking point” from the sheer volume of migrants. In January, Adams was forced to impose a curfew on several migrant shelters amid complaints from New Yorkers that the migrants were panhandling.
Adams has long called on President Joe Biden to hand over more federal funds to the city to help address the crisis.
“Yes, I’m speaking directly to the administration. This is a problem that we must have a resolution both from Congress on immigration, but [also] the administration to deal with the immediate need that we have,” Adams stated after visiting the southern border in January 2023.
However, encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border have consistently racked up monthly records. Border Patrol reported more than 176,000 migrant encounters in January, the most of any January ever recorded, smashing the previous high set just the year prior.
After the mayor capped migrants’ shelter stays at 60 days for families and 30 days for single adults, thousands of notices to vacate have been distributed to those remaining at the shelters, according to a report prepared by the committee. The notices have disproportionately been sent to migrants from some African nations, it concluded. (RELATED: NYC Mayor Announces Decree To Kick More Migrants Out Of City Shelters)
“We must uproot the anti-Blackness that plagues our systems of care – this work requires dedication, creativity, and a city willing to fund our short, mid, and long term needs,” Council member Alexa Aviles said ahead of the Tuesday committee hearing.
While the hearing was taking place, hundreds of members of the African migrant community appeared before New York City Hall, with most of them gathering outside.
The City Council Immigration Committee is holding a hearing on the experiences of Black migrants in NYC today.
Hundreds of migrants are lined up in City Hall Park hoping to get in, and there’s some commotion on the steps as people are being let in. pic.twitter.com/D6ZnUglsAc
— Chris Sommerfeldt (@C_Sommerfeldt) April 16, 2024
While most of the migrants were there for the committee hearing, some reportedly told members of the media that they were promised work visas if they simply showed up, according to the New York Post.
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