The length of stay allowed for migrants housed in shelters administered by the city of New York will be reduced by half, that is, from 60 days to 30 days.
Mayor Eric Adams announced plans to further tighten housing standards for migrant adults for up to 30 days in city-run facilities.
Adams hopes the move will ease pressure on the Big Apple’s ailing housing system and potentially prevent more migrants from arriving.
Critics quickly reacted to the implementation of the measure, calling it unnecessary and ruthless. especially after the announcement by the federal government that it will extend Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to Venezuelans who arrived before July 31.
The TPS a designation that allows immigrants to travel more quickly and obtain permission to work in the United States.
Still, the mayor said the move was necessary and “another step in our efforts to help asylum seekers take the next step in their journey.”
“We want to make it clear. We can’t spike the ball, because it won’t take care of all the immigrants and asylum seekers that are in town Adams said in his announcement.
“We have about 60,000 in our care, 10,000 every month. And many of those who arrived could not claim that or other benefits of that initiative.
New York City has more than 60,000 migrants in its care, about a quarter of them from Venezuela. Since spring 2022, more than 116,000 immigrants have arrived from the United States-Mexico border.
In July, The Democrat imposed a 60-day upper limit on shelters that critics say would violate a court ruling requiring the city to offer shelter to anyone who requests it.
Two months ago, Adams issued an executive order relaxing the city’s right to housing rules, which is currently the subject of a court battle, ABC 7 NY reported.
For his part, the governor Kathy Hochul supported the mayor on the issue and said that the right to housing was never intended “to be an unlimited universal right or obligation of the city to literally house the whole world.”
“This is another continuation of only putting people who are literally trying to establish their new life and have more problems and complications that they have to go through,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of New York Immigration Coalition, in a statement.
In addition, Migrant advocates have long pressed the city to provide housing vouchers for asylum seekers. and funding efforts to build stronger and more permanent solutions, such as expanding the city’s affordable housing stock.
“I don’t think anyone wants to be in a shelter. “It’s not like living at the Ritz,” he said. “In fact, for the most part, our newest New Yorkers are placed in tents and challenging areas.”
In this sense, critics They questioned the need for a time limit when Adams obtained a grant from the federal government that allowed Venezuelans a faster path to finding jobs. and become more self-sufficient in housing.
“Any policy that limits the time our clients can live in a shelter is arbitrary and lacks compassion,” the Legal Aid Society and the Coalition for the Homeless said in a joint statement.
