Starting from the spring of 2022 to the mid-autumn of 2023, around 131,000 immigrants have arrived in New York City. Many came through the US-Mexico border with hopes to find shelter, safety, and jobs to better their lives. Many incoming immigrants claim asylum, escaping not only difficulties they faced in their own countries like economic downfalls, corruption, and human trafficking, but also political persecution, harassment, and threats to their lives. Their main objective is to stay in the US and avoid deportation until they are legalized and ready to establish a new life. With these massive amounts of people flooding into US cities, New York officials responded by providing food and shelter, and assistance to obtain work permits by immigrants arriving in the city. However, many of the immigrants are unable to begin work for various reasons such as language barrier, lack of skills, or even the six months waiting time requirement to obtain a work permit.
United States - Mexico Border Overrun by Immigrants
New York is one of the ten states that is considered a sanctuary state. These states provide support for refugees and immigrants. They have the right-to-shelter rules, meaning that these states must provide housing to people who need it. The local law enforcement does not assist the federal immigration officers to identify, capture and deport immigrants. However, it doesn’t mean that the local law enforcement will stay in a way or prevent the federal immigration agents from doing their job. The other states that have a sanctuary status are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.
The main point of entry for many migrants remains the southern border. Between the years 1990 and 2006, roughly one million illegal crossings per year were registered by the US-Mexico Border Patrol. In 2022 alone, the Border Patrol confirmed 2.2 million people illegally crossed the southern border, a record high. From October 2022 through September 2023, 1.6 million illegal immigrants entered the US territory. Texas cities bordering Mexico via Rio Grande River are overflooded with high numbers of migrants. Most recently, within only two days about 28,000 people crossed the Rio Grande River. Cities in Texas declare a state of emergency and are asking for help and intervention from the US Government. Other states that report high numbers of illegal migrants are Florida, Arizona, and North Carolina.
Citizens of Mexico and Central America are primary migrating nations, followed by citizens from Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Haiti. Over 54,000 migrants came from the Northern Triangle countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
While awaiting affirmative action from the Government, the governors of the states that have been mostly impacted by the high migrant population have initiated special operation programs that centered around protecting the borders of their states and controlling the number of migrants. For example, Texas Governor, Gregg Abbott, along with the Texas Public Safety and National Guard Departments, intensified efforts on securing the border to stop illegal migration and halt smuggling drugs and illegal substances to Texas. The Governor organized busing of nearly 52,000 migrants from Texas to other areas: Washington DC, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Denver, and Los Angeles. Similar busing actions were taken by the Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, and Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis. Hoping to bring more attention to the southern border crisis, Gov. DeSantis has also extended his efforts to relocate migrants by flying forty-eight of them to prestigious Martha’s Vineyard, MA, a summer residence to many high-profile politicians. Lingering on public parking lots and McDonald’s buildings upon arrival, the migrants were given a shelter at the military base of Joint Base on Cape Cod.
Cities with high influx of migrants feel financial, room and board, and municipal burden, as it becomes very costly to provide shelter and appropriate care for continuously increasing numbers of new arrivals. Cities like New York became overwhelmed with providing shelter to asylum-seekers, who have no legal rights, and no work permits to perform any jobs for the first six months after they apply for asylum. Mayor Eric Adams is asking for speeding up the process of approving working permits for migrants. This will allow them to work legally in the US and start generating income to support themselves and their families. In the meantime, the New York City government has spent close to $1.5 billion during the past twelve months on proper housing, food, and other services under the right-to-shelter rule. While city officials stated that they are running out of room for more immigrants, Mayor Adams believes that there will be around $12 billion in additional costs associated with covering migrants services for just the next three fiscal years. The mayor has gone to the federal government asking for more funds to be able to support these immigrants in his city. Mayor Adams claims “[...] that President Biden has ‘failed’ the city by not doing more.” New York is struggling to keep up with its housing situation and Mayor Adams encourages immigrants to search for different cities to settle in.
While waiting for a response, the city is now instituting the process of applying for living space in the designated Roosevelt Hotel for all shelter seeking and new migrants. The Roosevelt Hotel itself became one of the primary centers for immigrants. However, since the space is limited, a high number of immigrants have been sleeping on the streets in cardboard boxes awaiting their turn to secure a place in the Roosevelt Hotel. Mayor Adams claims there is no way that the situation will get better anytime soon.
Other states face similar situations. States like California and Massachusetts allow immigrants to apply for drivers’ licenses, receive in-state free tuition at colleges, and obtain other benefits. While local authorities cooperate with the federal government and provide support to the immigrants, the US citizens raise an important concern. Over 70% of surveyed Americans stated that illegal immigration becomes a significant risk to US national security.
This immigration crisis is getting out of control and the US Congress still has not come to a conclusion on how to address immigration challenges. Congress leaves the major decisions to be made by courts and the executive branch. Hopefully the immigration reform will be finalized ahead of the US presidential election of 2024.