Gov. Kathy Hochul said she supports nixing New York City’s “right to shelter” law – as the relentless influx of migrants pouring in only continues to cripple an already “at capacity” Big Apple.
The governor backed Mayor Eric Adams’ push to suspend the decades-old mandate amid the escalating migrant crisis, telling CNN Wednesday the rule was never meant to “house literally the entire world.”
“That is the right thing to do,” Hochul said of rescinding the court-ordered mandate that requires the city to provide a bed for anyone who requests one.
“The original premise behind the right to shelter was, for starters, for homeless men on the streets, people experiencing aids that was [then] extended to families,” she said.
“But never was it envisioned being an unlimited universal right, or obligation on the city, to house literally the entire world.”
The Adams administration is currently challenging the “right to shelter” rule in the state Supreme Court, arguing they need to turn some people away because the city’s resources have already buckled with the arrival of more than 110,000 asylum seekers since spring 2022.
Legal Aid, however, has challenged the push, claiming, in part, that it would only result in more people sleeping on Gotham’s streets.
As the saga draws out, Hochul on Wednesday urged newly arrived migrants to consider settling someplace else – as the Biden administration cleared the way for Venezuelan asylum seekers to get expedited work permits.
Hochul told NY1 that granting temporary protected status and expediting work permits for thousands of Venezuelans who entered the US before July 31 was “an important first step” in getting expedited work status for all migrants.
“We have to let people know that if you’re thinking of coming to New York, we are truly out of space,” she said.
“The mayor has done an extraordinary job managing this crisis situation. We have been partners in helping him, but there must be other cities that do not have upwards of 125,000 people, over 60,000 in shelters, that can handle the volume easier in other states.”
About 41% of the migrants who have come to the Big Apple from the southern border are Venezuelans, according to City Hall data released last month.
Hochul said she had been pushing for more than a year to get Venezuelans the temporary protected status that allows them to work in the US, and that now working migrants will begin to live independently instead of relying on the city’s shelter system.
Expanding temporary protected status to migrants allows them to work within 30 days instead of 180, meaning they will be able to exit the shelters sooner.
Hochul said the state is committed to working with Mayor Eric Adams “to ensure these people are connected to jobs as soon as they’re able to work.”
“We have to have more workers, and this is going to be a very, very positive development for our state’s economy, for these individuals and our desire to start not opening more shelters, but starting to shut down shelters,” she added.
Following the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement, Hochul unveiled a major initiative that will focus state resources and personnel to help eligible migrants file for work authorization and connect them to employers.
More than 70 staffers from 16 different state agencies will be assigned to the effort. Another 50 DHS employees have been promised to New York to process migrants’ work authorization applications.
“It is critical that Venezuelans understand that those who have arrived here after July 31, 2023, are not eligible for such protection, and instead will be removed when they are found to not have a legal basis to stay,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said.
He said the extension and expansion of the protected status was warranted “due to extraordinary and temporary conditions in Venezuela that prevent individuals from safely returning.”
The status also protects eligible migrants from deportation.
