Starting May 27, the municipal government will require single asylum seekers to present “special circumstances” to renew their stay in shelters.
Something that many of them, interviewed at the Jefferson Street shelter in Bushwick, are not happy with.
“It is not good news for you, it is not good rules,” said Yoel José Mogres.
“What they have to do is help us to work, and anyone who doesn’t want to work, well, that’s no use,” said another migrant.
In the announcement, Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack explained that the shelter system is not permanent and that they prioritize support for vulnerable families with children and newcomers.
According to Varlack, there are two ways to qualify for a “special circumstance.”
The first option allows migrants with 30- and 60-day notices to obtain an extension if they demonstrate that in the next 30 days they plan to move or leave New York, have pending immigration proceedings, or are recovering from a medical procedure or have one scheduled.
The second way to obtain an extension is by demonstrating efforts to relocate, such as searching for employment, housing, or taking English classes.
Students ages 18 to 21 will automatically receive extensions.
For their part, pro-immigrant activists fear that this measure will harm the quality of life of immigrants and New Yorkers.
“We know that mental health costs, hospital costs and all these physical and mental charges that are related to living on the street are going to increase because we are moving people out from one day to the next,” said Marlene Galaz, Immigration Coalition. from NY.
This measure arises from a legal agreement between the municipal government, Legal Aid Society and the coalition for the homeless to improve resource management for single immigrants.
Ed Josephson, an attorney for the Legal Aid Society, said the agreement was a response to the city’s threats to revoke the shelter right.
“This agreement is not perfect and it is not what we want, but we think what is best for all the people in the city who need protection,” said the lawyer.
According to data from the mayor’s office, nearly 200,000 migrants have arrived in the city, with more than 65,000 currently under their care.
Of these, 15,000 are adults and single families directly affected by the new measure. Of them, 29 have requested extensions: 14 were approved and 15 denied.
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