New York City has increased its efforts to remove migrants from its overcrowded shelters. On Wednesday, a new rule was implemented that requires certain adult asylum-seekers to leave the system and find their own place to stay within a month.
Migrants who do not have young children must leave the hotels, tent complexes, and other shelter facilities run by the city after 30 days, unless they can show proof of “extenuating circumstances” and are given special permission to stay.
According to Mayor Eric Adams’ office, as of late Wednesday, 192 migrants had requested an extension after reaching their 30-day limit, and 118 of them had been approved. Many more people are expected to receive eviction notices in the next few months.
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Mamadou Diallo, a 39-year-old man from Senegal, is uncertain about where he will go after his stay at a shelter in the Bronx ends later this week. He wants to get more time to stay in the country. He has been taking English classes and doing temporary jobs like cleaning until he can legally apply for permission to work for the government.
“I have nowhere to go,” Diallo said over the phone on Wednesday as he was going to class. “I am going to school.” I am searching for employment. I am doing my best.
Once migrants apply for asylum, they have to wait for almost five months before they can apply for new work authorization as required by the federal government.
The new restrictions were put in place after Adams’ administration successfully changed the city’s “right to shelter” rule in March. This rule used to require the city to provide temporary housing for every homeless person who requested it.
Before the new rule was implemented, adult migrants without children could stay in a shelter for a maximum of 30 days. However, they had the option to reapply for another bed without any restrictions.
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The city has a rule that limits migrant families with young children to staying for only 60 days. However, this new rule does not affect them, and they can still apply again without having to give any reasons.
An audit discovered that the rollout of the project has been disorganized over the past six months.
Advocates for immigrants’ rights and homeless individuals are carefully watching the eviction process, which affects around 15,000 migrant adults. The city shelter system currently houses around 65,000 migrants. However, a significant number of them are families with children.
“We are worried that people might be denied for reasons that could be challenged or due to errors or because they didn’t have all the necessary documents,” expressed David Giffen, who is the executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless. “We are paying close attention to see if that happens because no one in New York City who needs shelter should ever have to sleep on the streets.”
Adams, who is a Democrat, responded to critics on Tuesday who have said that the city’s rules for migrant shelters are inhumane and have been implemented without proper planning. Adams explained that the city cannot continue to provide housing for migrants indefinitely. New York City has given temporary homes to almost 200,000 migrants since the spring of 2022. Over a thousand new people come to the city every week, according to him.
“People used to say it’s cruel to make people leave during the winter, but now they say it’s cruel to do it in the summer,” Adams said. “There is no convenient time.” There is no convenient time.
The decision is being made as Denver, a city that has experienced a large number of migrants moving in, begins a new program to support migrants. This program includes providing six-month stays in apartments and offering intensive job preparation for those who are not yet legally allowed to work. Chicago has set a 60-day limit on how long adult migrants can stay in shelters, with no possibility of extending their stay. In Massachusetts, families will only be allowed to stay in shelters for a maximum of nine months, starting in June.
In October, Adams requested a court to completely suspend the “right to shelter” requirement. However, this request was opposed by groups advocating for immigrant rights and homeless individuals. In March, they reached a settlement and agreed on new rules for migrants.
The agreement still allows city officials to give people more time to stay in shelters on a case-by-case basis. According to city officials, migrants are required to demonstrate that they are actively trying to settle down by doing things like applying for work authorization or asylum, or looking for a job or an apartment.
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