Governor Kathy Hochul is calling on President Biden to address the surge of migrants seeking shelter & aid in New York City.
In a letter sent to the president last week, Hochul called on the Administration to provide “significant” financial assistance to cover the billions of dollars New York City and the State have spent to help the 100,000 migrants who have arrived in the City in the past year. Hochul is also asking for expedited work authorizations to connect migrants to businesses with immediate job openings. She’s asking for a waiver of the federal six-month waiting period before the migrants are allowed to seek employment. And in her livestreamed address last week, Hochul also said she won’t force counties outside of New York City to accept newly arrived migrants. This week, the Administration pushed back on the Governor’s criticism. Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas cited ways the City and State can improve their handling of the crisis, and according to WCBS-TV in New York, Mayorkas offered Mayor Eric Adams 11 potential shelter sites outside of the City, against the Governor’s wishes. Most of those sites are downstate, but one, the airport in the Town of Massena, is in the North Country. Sue Bellow, the Supervisor in Massena, says no one has told her that the town-owned airport is being considered. North Country Congresswoman Elise Stefanik also issued a statement saying that a bipartisan coalition of elected officials in the county oppose using the Massena Airport as a site to house migrants & asylum seekers.