US President Joe Biden’s migrant policies are forcing New York City to face a staggering price tag of more than $1 billion to house illegals inundating the Big Apple.
NYC is extending its contract with local hotels to shelter migrants for up to three more years. The anticipated cost of paying the hotels rental fees will be around $1.365 billion, according to US media reports. At this point it is worth noting that the sum, staggering as it is, fails to take into account cost of city facilities and other rented sites housing asylum seekers.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk went on X to weigh in on what he called a "severe crisis."
Screenshot of X post by Elon Musk with link to footage of migrants in New York City, US.
© Photo : elonmusk/X
NYC Mayor Eric Adams recently admitted that the officials were “past our breaking point,” adding:
“With more than 57,300 individuals currently in our care on an average night, it amounts to $9.8 million a day. Almost $300 million a month and nearly $3.6 billion a year.”
New York City became what is referred to as a "sanctuary city" under Mayor Ed Koch in the 1980s. The term is loosely used to refer to places politically “sympathetic” to undocumented immigrants who are in the US illegally. Now, with the influx of migrants straining the city's resources, Adams is limiting the extent of the city's right to shelter obligations.
Protest signs are posted outside the former Saint John Villa Academy being repurposed as a shelter for homeless migrants, Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023, in the Staten Island borough of New York.
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
Asylum seekers arriving for the first time get a 30-day period to find alternate housing outside a city-run facility, supported by "intensified casework services" to "discuss their options and plan their next steps," according to Adams' office.
After US President Joe Biden got rid of the federal COVID emergency Title 42 health order on May 11, which dated back to the Trump administration and allowed US Border Patrol to turn migrants away at the border, migrant numbers have surged due to expectations of more lenient immigration policies, according to US media reports. Furthermore, as border towns in states like Texas are overwhelmed by thousands of people illegally crossing in from Mexico because of Biden’s immigration policies, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has been sending busloads of migrants to Democratic-run destinations. His actions have been echoed by authorities in Arizona and Florida.
According to recent reports, El Paso in Texas is looming on the “cusp of a third wave” of migrant arrivals. Shelters there are "over capacity," Opportunity Center for the Homeless Deputy Director John Martin was cited as saying
According to Texas Governor Abbott, his state has bused over 35,000 migrants to Democratic strongholds, with "over 11,300 to D.C., Over 13,300 to NYC, Over 6,700 to Chicago, Over 2,600 to Philadelphia, Over 1,000 to Denver, Over 480 to L.A."
"Until the President and his Administration step up and fulfill their constitutional duty to secure the border, the State of Texas will continue busing migrants to self-declared sanctuary cities like Denver to provide much-needed relief to our small border towns,” Abbott said in a statement earlier in the year.