new-york-extends-state-of-emergency-due-to-immigration-crisis-amid-neighborhood-protestsNew York extends state of emergency due to immigration crisis amid neighborhood protests
Marlyn Montilla's avatar

By Marlyn Montilla

Aug 27, 2023, 09:34 AM EDT

New York extended the state of emergency due to the immigration crisis, which will allow more public funds to be used to house and provide humanitarian assistance to newcomers, while the first reactions of some communities do not welcome their welcome.

The governor, Kathy Hochul, expanded the emergency after requesting help from Joe Biden, so that the Federal Government gets involved in the crisis, especially facilitating work permits for asylum seekers, to which the White House responded by justifying a lack of of “action” of Congress.

In little more than a year, more than 100,000 migrants who officials have called asylum seekers have arrived in New York, mostly in the City, which is required by law to take them in, crowding the public shelter system and leading to dozens of temporary shelters.

So far, more than 200 temporary accommodations have been inaugurated, which include a humanitarian aid center.

However, the places turned into shelters, ranging from hotels to temporary gyms, have created resistance in their respective communities, most recently in Staten Island, which sued the local New York administration to prevent an old disused school from becoming a temporary shelter.

According to local media, on Friday morning there were three detainees in a neighborhood protest against the use of the old St. John Villa Academy school as a shelter for a group of immigrants who had already begun to be transferred there by the administration, and who are families and single women.

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, a Republican, announced a lawsuit against the city and a judge ruled in his favor, prohibiting the administration from using that space as a shelter for the next two weeks even though it has been his property since 2018. , according to ABC 7.

One of the biggest problems in the immigration crisis is the slowness with which newcomers are processing their asylum applications – which take several months – which delays their search for legal employment, which is why both the state and the city have announced investments to assist these people in the corresponding bureaucracy.

Apart from that, the governor announced a program to connect asylum seekers who already have federal work permits and employment opportunities, and a web portal for companies to tell the state if they are open to hiring newcomers.

With information from EFE

Keep reading:

  • New York opened the largest humanitarian center built for immigrants in Manhattan with a capacity for 3,000 people
  • Hundreds of residents protest against possible new migrant shelter at former residence for the elderly on Staten Island
  • A New Jersey federal judge approved a lawsuit against three immigrant families for having separated them from their children in 2018

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