Last Wednesday, July 19, the mayor of New York, Eric Adams, announced that a new rule will come into force which stipulates that single adult migrants who are living in the city’s emergency shelters will have a period of 2 months to find a home before they are forced to vacate the shelters where they reside.
In a press conference that took place at the city hall, Adams said that the shelters have reached their maximum capacity. New York will begin serving 60-day eviction notices to both men and women who are part of the city’s network of emergency shelters, as authorities fight to get spaces for families with children. The eviction rule will take effect in the next few days and will take place on a rolling basis.
Eric Adams, reported that the city will work so that he can connect immigrants with social workers in order to help them contact friends and family or provide them with the necessary options to find other housing alternatives. The policy change comes against a background of ongoing efforts by the city to accommodate thousands of immigrants who have arrived in record numbers since last spring.
According to a statement issued by the New York City Council, there are currently an average of 300 to 500 people arriving every day. In addition, it is estimated that there are more than 54,800 migrants who are currently under the care of the city despite the fact that the crossings on the southern border registered a considerable decrease in recent months.
Eric Adams, expressed that the New York shelter system is overwhelmed and that the rule change is brought about due to a lack of state or federal aid. “We don’t have more space in the city, we need the federal government to help us. We have made it very clear that asylum seekers must be allowed to work, we need financial support from the federal government, and we must ensure that there is a real decompression strategy across the nation.”
It should be noted that once migrant adults receive the 60-day eviction notice, they will be able to reapply for shelter at an arrival center. Although this does not guarantee that they will get accommodation in a hostel in the city on the same day. In addition, Adams reported that New York will work with border cities in order to generate an effective distribution of flyers that are designed to discourage immigrants seeking to reach the city.
