Still no word from feds, state on aid to manage migrant asylum seekers: NYC Mayor Adams

Four days after calling on the state and federal governments to step up efforts to assist New York City in managing its burgeoning asylum seeker crisis, Mayor Adams said Tuesday that neither has committed any additional help to the Big Apple.

Last Friday, Adams declared a state of emergency in response to the nearly 20,000 migrants from Latin America who’ve streamed into the city this year, putting a severe strain on its homeless shelter system.

As part of his Friday announcement, he demanded that the state provide emergency financial relief, that the feds cut red tape to allow asylum seekers to work sooner and that there be a “coordinated effort to move asylum seekers to other cities in this country to ensure everyone is doing their part.”

So far though, all New York City’s mayor has effectively heard in response is the sound of silence.

“I know it’s difficult to have the patience sometimes, but we have been communicating with our federal and state partners,” he said. “I believe that we are going to start seeing some influx of assistance that we need.”

In response to a direct question about what commitments, if any, the state and federal government have made since his speech, he replied: “There’s nothing specific that I can point to.”

Adams has appeared careful not criticize Gov. Hochul or President Biden directly — even though he’s been asking for help for months. On Tuesday, he made sure to thank Hochul for how she’s coordinated with his administration thus far.

When asked Monday what additional help she intends to provide to the city, Hochul would not respond.

Hochul is running for reelection in November, and any assistance she offers the city could create a backlash among Republican-leaning voters. And Biden, while not running for reelection himself, is facing a referendum on the first two years of his presidency with the midterm elections, which will determine whether Democrats maintain control of Congress.

In his requests for help, Adams hasn’t been able to control how others have used his emergency declaration as a weapon against fellow Democrats. Last week, Republicans seized on his speech to illustrate what they perceive as Hochul and Biden’s failures.

“The only thing Kathy Hochul has offered is lip service,” City Councilman Joseph Borelli, State Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt and Assembly Minority Leader William Barclay said last Friday in a joint statement. “Kathy Hochul must request that President Biden declare New York City in a state of emergency, which would unlock Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.”

From the beginning, the migrant crisis in New York City has been colored with political jockeying. Many of those who’ve arrived to the city have come on buses sent by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who’s also running for reelection and has used his bussing policy as a cudgel to attack Biden on the federal government’s border policies.

When asked if he had any concerns over his words being used against Democrats as GOP talking points, Adams said Tuesday that his main focus is informing New Yorkers.

“No matter what I say, people can try to distort,” he said. “It’s about informing the New York public.”

In responding to the inflow of migrants, the Adams administration has placed many in homeless shelters, but the shelters are now buckling under the strain, prompting Adams to set up tents on Randalls Island to house the newly arrived.

The mayor would not say Tuesday when those tents would begin taking the migrants, but noted that he would greet them once they’re up and running.

The mayor’s most recent remarks regarding state and federal aid left at least one Albany insider perplexed Tuesday. According to that Democratic legislative source in Albany, lawmakers there want more details from the mayor before committing help.

“There’s a willingness to help, but we gotta figure out what the ask is,” the source said, adding that it is still unclear how much in financial aid Adams is seeking or what precisely the money would be used for.

Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays noted that the governor has asked the Biden administration to provide the city with additional resources and to consider loosening work permit rules for asylum seekers. Hochul has activated 147 members of the New York National Guard to help coordinate the city’s work on Randalls Island.

Crampton-Hays pointed out that the state has also provided assistance in identifying available properties to house migrants, is providing supplemental transportation options for asylum seekers and is offering free legal services to them.

“Governor Hochul remains concerned about the safety and well-being of asylum seekers who are coming to our state,” Crampton Hays said. “We continue to coordinate closely with the city on the immediate response and support their requests for federal assistance.”