last shelter: survival state immigration cost

'It's not sustainable, and it's not healthy.' 'It's really disappointing to see how these people are shoved into these hotels as permanent housing', says Desiree Joy Frias, an organizer with South Bronx Mutual Aid. NPR reached out to New York City officials several times regarding these health concerns, and received no response.Īdvocates say these types of housing conditions are inhumane. New York estimates more than 50,000 migrants have come to the city in the past year. Migrants return to a housing center in Brooklyn. But he wanted to get out before he was transferred again. Conditions at The Watson hotel, Jose says, were decent. 'I think the government should be a little more flexible and give work permits, so that they don't have to spend on us,' he says.Ī work permit would enable Jose and others like him to move out of the shelter system, and to pay an immigration lawyer. He said he understands that the city budget is stretched thin. Up until a few weeks ago, it was The Watson Hotel, in Midtown Manhattan, with other migrants. Jose has lived in three New York shelters so far. He tends to speak like this- in short sentences, with heavy, thoughtful pauses. 'It was not easy,' he says, taking a deep breath. At the U.S.-Mexico border, he told authorities he was in danger and needed asylum. He was a truck driver there, which made him easy prey for gangs, who, he says, threatened to kill him. He asks that we withhold his last name, because he fears for his family in Caracas. He remains in limbo and can't legally work until his asylum case is heard.

Jose, who is from Venezuela, arrived in New York five months ago. He just knows he can't return to Venezuela. Without work, he can't find stable housing. Like the others, without official status, he can't legally work. He is originally from Venezuela, arriving in the U.S. Until those things happen, many migrants remain in limbo. He has called on the federal government to help, and announced plans for an intake center that would help better process migrants. 'We have been doing it alone thus far,' Adams said. Mayor Eric Adams and others have called the cost for temporary housing, medical care and other support unsustainable. Most are in the city's care, which could cost about $1 billion by some estimates this fiscal year. More than 50,000 migrants have made their way to New York over the past year, but many are no closer to having their asylum cases heard than when they arrived. Migrants entering a cruise ship terminal in Brooklyn which was repurposed into a housing center.

Last shelter: survival state immigration cost