We too Are America, (WTAA) founder Vale Lily
By Dan Murphy
Since the spring of 2022, more than 100,000 migrants have been bused from Texas to the Port Authority in New York City, with less than 400 migrants currently in Westchester at three locations. While Governor Kathy Hochul included $1.5 Billion in her budget this year to help New York City pay for the incoming migrants, it is clearly not enough. Federal assistance is needed but has not yet been forthcoming. NYC Mayor Eric Adams has been asking for State and Federal assistance as 60,000 migrants are being kept at motels-hotels and shelters across the city. Adams estimates the costs will be $12 Billion over three years. That figure seems high when you consider that the City of Yonkers budget for 200,000 residents is just over $1 Billion per year.
We asked elected officials, after 18 months, why has Washington DC been so slow to allocate migrant funds to states like New York.
1-The Biden administration wants to wait until after the 2024 elections. According to a confidant of Mayor Adams, last month The White House told Adams, “Hang on for a year. If Biden gets re-elected, he will cut you a check for a lot of money. But we’re not doing it until after the presidential election (2024).”
2-A similar answer that we got from a Westchester Democrat, is that “They (Biden Admin) don’t want to acknowledge the problem, or own it, by sending billions to NYC. They are worried about how that will look. They are scared of this issue. This high-level Westchester democrat, and other democrats we spoke to, don’t agree with this plan. “The idea that we can ride this out until after the 2024 elections is nonsense. It’s all over the media and if democrats control New York City and New York State then we will take the blame. And the few congressional seats that are in republican hands will use this issue against us.”
3-A Republican Controlled GOP House will not approve any funding for migrants in New York City. A republican elected official told us “The republicans in Congress will not support any additional funding for migrants and the Biden administration knows it.”
Another democrat said, “We are spending billions on Ukraine, why can’t we help NYC properly care for the migrants?”
4-“If you start handing out money to NYC, who has more than 100,000 migrants, how much do you give to Texas, who has millions of migrants? And Texas is a Red-republican state who is using their own resources to try and stop the flow of migrants. There is no cooperation between Texas and the Biden administration,” said a Congressional staffer.
After more than one year of waiting, the patience of both NYC Mayor Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul, is wearing thin. The Governor recently visited The White House to ask for funding, and for help in allowing migrants to work here, but left saying it was not enough.
“I am especially pleased that the federal government has agreed to provide personnel, data, and resources to identify the thousands of individuals in New York who are already eligible, but have not yet applied, for work authorization. This is a critical first step but make no mistake: it is not enough to fully address this crisis or provide the level of support that New Yorkers need and deserve. That is why in the days ahead I will continue working to secure expedited work authorization for even more individuals, expanded financial support for New York, and long-overdue immigration reforms,” said Hochul.
According to Hochul, the White House said they will “surge resources,” meaning that in the next couple of weeks, DHS staffers will arrive in Manhattan and “make themselves available to allow us to start processing thousands of people so they can apply to asylum legally.”
In a statement, The White House called on Congress to increase funding to programs to support communities receiving migrants and to pass immigration reform. “The Administration requested $600 million additional for the Shelter and Services Program in the Supplemental, and we continue to call on Congress to fulfil that request,” the White House said.
Mayor Adams wants all counties in New York State to share the burden of the migrant crisis. Hochul disagrees. “We cannot and will not force other parts of our state to shelter migrants, nor are we going to be asking these migrants to move to other parts of the state against their will.”
Adams responded, “I think on this issue, the governor is wrong. She’s the governor of the state of New York. New York City is in that state. Every county in that state should be a part of this.”
Adams has also proposed splitting the cost between NYC, the State and Federal governments, for housing and feeding the migrants, and other related costs. With no Federal Aid coming in the short term, New York’s two US Senators and members of Congress from New York are being asked -can you help?
Hudson Valley Republican Congressman Marc Molinaro said, “I have not seen a less coordinated, less competent way of dealing with human lives,” Mr. Molinaro said. “I know the reporting today has become a little bit about how the president is pointing at the governor, the governor at the mayor. The story line is Democrat leaders are pointing at each other.”
The cost of the 375 migrants currently in three Westchester hotels-motels in Yonkers, Ardsley and White Plains are being paid for by New York City, who has contracted with Westhab in Yonkers, and DocGo for the Ardsley and White Plains locations, to provide shelter and food.
Like so many issues in our country, Westchester residents are split on whether to help the migrants. Some have volunteered support, while others want to help the existing homeless in Westchester, some of whom are veterans. More on this story next week.
