New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo: Dn Pollard / Office of the Governor Hochul
May 23, 2023
As New York’s immigration crisis intensifies, Gov. Kathy Hochul finds herself caught in the middle of a political dispute between New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Joe Biden over how to deal to the influx of some 80,000 asylum seekers in New York City.
Adams has drawn the ire of the Biden administration for his criticism of how the federal government has handled the migrant crisis. New York City has been overwhelmed with up to 5,800 asylum seekers arriving each week, most transported from states like Texas and Florida.
Adams has proposed moving some migrants to upstate hotels or housing them in school gymnasiums, but those ideas have met with opposition and controversy.
In April, a frustrated Adams lashed out, saying the national government had “turned its back”.
“Instead of being on the steps of City Hall, we should be on the steps of the White House,” Adams said on April 19. “And asking the national government, what are you doing in New York City?”
Adams’ comments prompted Biden’s campaign advisory board to fire him. Adams, the nation’s highest-profile African-American mayor, could have been a key surrogate to help Biden win more voters in the presidential race.
Adams continued MSNBC on May 21 that his criticism was not about politics and that he would do “everything possible” to see Biden re-elected.
Hochul is a close ally of Biden. And she is one of two New York Democrats who serve on the president’s re-election advisory council.
However, Hochul presented a united front with Adams, along with several members of Congress from New York, calling for more help from Biden and Congress and praising Adams’ efforts so far.
“Mayor, I want to thank you again, on behalf of the people of this state, for the way you faced this challenge, you didn’t run away, you didn’t shirk and you said, ‘Let’s get this resolved.’ ” Hochul said. “And that’s the kind of leadership that’s so important.”
Hochul, Adams and some members of Congress, including Jerry Nadler and Dan Goldman, are calling on the Biden administration to waive the six-month waiting period that migrants must go through before they are allowed to work. They say there are plenty of jobs available in New York to fill.
Hochul was careful not to belittle the president, saying he hoped he and his aides would listen to his plea. And she said she is pleased with the new border admissions process that replaced the pandemic-era regulations known as Title 42. Now asylum seekers must first apply for aid and sponsorship while they are in their countries before they can cross the border. to the United States.
“We are grateful that the Biden administration has instituted a new border process,” Hochul said.
There is some dispute over whether the president could issue an executive order to waive the 180-day waiting period for migrants, or whether it would require an act of Congress.
Biden is a Democrat and the US Senate is narrowly controlled by Democrats, but Republicans lead the House.
The highest-ranking Republican in New York state government, Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, said he disagrees with waiving the 180-day waiting period for employment . He said the rule is in place to ensure public safety.
“The reason it’s taking so long now is because there’s a security and vetting process that has to go through,” Ortt said. “You have people who have come forward, we don’t know what their background is, we don’t know where they’re from, we don’t know their history.”
New York’s governor, mayor and congressional representatives don’t seem to be making any progress on the issue so far. The governor, speaking Monday, said Biden hasn’t said yes to his request, but he hasn’t dismissed the idea either.
“We are working with the White House,” he said. “We didn’t get a flat ‘no’.
Meanwhile, the newly approved state budget includes $1 billion to help New York City care for migrants. And the governor said she is looking at state properties, including unused former prisons and psychiatric facilities, as well as temporarily vacant SUNY dormitories to house the migrants, whose numbers are expected to grow in the coming weeks.
A Hochul spokesman, Avi Small, said in a statement that several sites, including those at public colleges in the city and state, are being considered, but that “no final decision has been made.” .
