The Biden campaign is claiming former President Donald Trump lied during Thursday night’s debate when he said illegal immigrants are living in luxury hotels in New York City, but multiple reports cast doubt on the campaign’s assertion.
President Joe Biden’s campaign team released a memo titled “50 Lies Trump Told on The Debate Stage” following the Democrat’s disastrous performance Thursday night. While the memo purportedly lists falsehoods Trump spoke during the debate, one claim about migrants living in luxury hotels is corroborated by numerous reports. (RELATED: Biden Admin Preparing Deportation Protection For Hundreds Of Thousands Of Haitians In The US)
“[Biden] opened the borders, nobody’s ever seen anything like,” Trump said during one moment in the debate. “And we have to get a lot of these people out and we have to get them out fast, because they’re going to destroy our country.”
“Just take a look at where they’re living,” Trump continued. “They’re living in luxury hotels in New York City and other places.”
US President Joe Biden and former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 27, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
However, New York City has, in fact, converted at least one four-star hotel and other upscale hotels into shelters for migrants living in the Big Apple.
New York City officials began housing migrants in the four-star Collective Paper Factory hotel around August 2023 after it was converted into a Department of Homeless Services emergency shelter, the New York Post reported. The “chic” Square Hotel was also converted into housing for migrants, according to another Post report.
“A 4-star hotel is considered luxury lodging,” according to Kayak, a hotel booking services company. “Guest rooms are noticeably more spacious, with top-quality linens, pillowtop mattresses, bathrobes, slippers, minibars, and upscale toiletries, plus equipped kitchens.”
The five-story Collective Paper Factory itself is equipped with a gym, restaurant, a bar, meeting rooms for guests and communal spaces, according to the Post.
“There are more services offered: concierges, 24-hour room service, and car valet services are commonplace,” Kayak also said about these four-star hotels.
Other “upscale” hotels in New York City have been converted into migrant housing in the past two years as city officials continue to deal with the migrant crisis, including The Row, which has also been described as a “four-star hotel.” More than 200,000 migrants have overwhelmed the Big Apple since 2022, according to local reports.
Check Your Fact also debunked a “fact check” by the New York Times about the Trump hotel remark by citing the outlet’s previous reporting on the matter.
NYT claims Trump’s claim that migrants were housed in luxury hotels was “false.” Migrants were housed in converted “upscale hotels” and other locations per the NYT. pic.twitter.com/FxAALtsQZH
— Elias Atienza (@AtienzaElias) June 28, 2024
The illegal immigrant influx prompted Mayor Eric Adams to declare 5% budget cuts in September for government programs and services in order to pay for their housing and other services, and in August he declared the city was reaching a “breaking point” from the sheer volume of migrants.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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