What you should know
- New York City authorities want to take the pressure off overcrowded homeless shelters by housing asylum seekers in a federal jail that once detained Wall Street mobsters, terrorists and swindlers before being released. closed after the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein.
- The proposal, suggested in an Aug. 9 letter to the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, came as New York struggles to handle the estimated 100,000 immigrants who have poured into the city since 2022 after crossing the southern border. from United States.
- The city is legally required to find shelter for anyone who needs it. With homeless shelters full, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, took over hotels, put cots in recreation centers and school gyms, and created temporary housing in huge tents.
NEW YORK — New York City authorities want to take the pressure off overcrowded homeless shelters by housing asylum seekers in a federal jail that once detained Wall Street mobsters, terrorists and swindlers before being released. closed after the suicide of Jeffrey Epstein.
The proposal, suggested in an Aug. 9 letter to the administration of Gov. Kathy Hochul, came as New York struggles to handle the estimated 100,000 immigrants who have poured into the city since 2022 after crossing the southern border. from United States.
The city is legally required to find shelter for anyone who needs it. With homeless shelters full, New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, took over hotels, put cots in recreation centers and school gyms, and created temporary housing in huge tents.
The letter, written by a senior attorney with the city’s Legal Department, identifies several other sites where migrants could be housed, including the defunct Metropolitan Prison Center, which closed in 2021.
That closure came after the detention center, whose prisoners include mafia don John Gotti, associates of Osama bin Laden and Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, came under renewed scrutiny due to squalid conditions and Security flaws exposed after Epstein’s death.
Lawyers had long complained that the jail was dirty, infested with insects and rodents, and plagued with water and sewer leaks so severe they had led to structural problems.
The letter did not make it clear whether the city had actually approached the Federal Bureau of Prisons about gaining access to the jail as residential housing for immigrants. As asylum seekers, migrants are not prisoners and most are in the US legally while their asylum applications are pending, which generally leaves them free to travel.
In a statement, the Federal Bureau of Prisons said: “While we decline to comment on government correspondence, we can provide; MCC New York is closed, at least temporarily, and long-term plans for MCC New York have not been finalized. “.
At least one advocacy group has attacked the idea of housing immigrants in jail.
“Mayor Adams likes to say that all options are on the table when it comes to housing asylum seekers, but certain places should definitely be off the table,” said Murad Awawdeh, executive director of the Immigration Coalition of NY. “The Metropolitan Prison Center was a notoriously decrepit jail and is not an appropriate place to support people trying to build a new life in a new country.”
The influx of immigrants to the city has created some tension between the Hochul and Adams administrations. Lawyers for the two Democrats have sparred in court papers over how best to deal with an issue that has financial, political and humanitarian implications.
In a letter this week, an attorney representing Hochul sought to rebuff allegations that the state had failed to respond to the influx of immigrants in a substantial way, detailing steps the governor has taken and accusing the city of not accepting state assistance offers.
“The City has not made timely requests for regulatory changes, has not always promptly shared necessary information with the State, has not implemented programs in a timely manner, and has not consulted with the State before taking certain actions,” the letter said.
Hochul’s lawyer also noted that the state has set aside $1.5 billion for the city to help immigrants and has advanced $250 million for the effort, but said the city has only submitted reimbursement documents for just $138 million. .
Avi Small, a spokesperson for Hochul, said in a statement Thursday that “Governor Hochul is grateful to Mayor Adams and his team for their work in addressing this ongoing humanitarian crisis. Governor Hochul has deployed unprecedented resources to support the City’s efforts and will continue to work closely with them to provide aid and support.”
The city, in its own filing, suggested that Hochul use executive orders or litigation to secure housing for immigrants in upstate New York or consider trying to get neighboring states to accept immigrants.
City attorneys are also requesting the use of state properties such as the Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center or the State University of New York dormitories to house newcomers, as well as requesting that the federal government allow them to use sites such as the Metropolitan Correctional Center Jail and Fort Dix.
Adams’ office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment Thursday.
