New York City will no longer provide taxpayer-funded legal advice and other services to newly arrived migrants, according to the Adams administration, after the state refused to provide additional funding.
Mayor Eric Adams’ administration announced in a statement that beginning June 30, the city will no longer provide case management services at migrant shelters throughout the city, including assistance with finding legal aid, obtaining federal work permits and jobs, and enrolling in English language classes.
“We are not out of the woods yet, and we still have over 38,000 migrants in our care,” spokesperson Liz Garcia said in a statement. “However, the state recently decided not to allocate any new funding to New York City for migrant-related costs, so the case management services that we have been providing at migrant shelters will no longer be available. “We are disappointed with the state’s decision.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul turned down Adams’ request for an additional $1 billion in the recently signed $253 billion state budget to cover the Big Apple’s migrant costs.
A Hochul spokesperson responded that the number of weekly migrant arrivals in New York has decreased by 95% in the last year and that the city still has more than $2 billion from the state “that they have yet to draw from, which is why this year’s budget did not include additional funding.”
“The governor will continue to work with City Hall to meet their responsibility to provide shelter to new arrivals,” Hochul spokesman Avi Small said in a statement.
According to the Adams administration, New York City has spent an estimated $8 billion on housing and other expenses for over 230,000 migrants who arrived in early 2022, with approximately 37,000 still in its care. City officials claim they have already spent the $2 billion provided by the state.
The city has also received federal funding cuts, with the Trump administration withdrawing $188 million in federal grants in April to cover migrant costs. The city filed a legal challenge, alleging that the Trump administration “illegally” withdrew the money.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the Trump administration revoked the Federal Emergency Management Agency grants because the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which she claimed was using the Roosevelt Hotel as a “base of operations,” was benefiting from the federal funding.
Earlier this month, the Adams administration announced the closure of several migrant “welcome centers” across the city, citing a lack of new state funding and a decline in the number of migrants arriving.