The city of New York has begun offering immigrants plane tickets to destinations of their choice, in response to the increase in asylum seekers arriving in the city.
More than 130,600 people seeking refuge from humanitarian crises around the world have arrived in New York City since 2022. City Council President Eric Adams (D) warned that the city is running out of space and resources to accommodate them.
Municipal authorities recently discussed the possibility of offering tents to immigrants and creating camps in parks, such as Central Park and Prospect Park, and other outdoor spaces, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.
In recent weeks, the New York City Fire Department has closed several shelters for asylum seekers due to fire safety risks, according to CBS News.
A spokesperson for the mayor reported on Friday (27) that the city has created a “ticket issuance center” where immigrants can secure a plane ticket.
The city will ramp up efforts “to purchase tickets for immigrants, to help them take the next steps in their journeys.”
“This helps us in the screening operations” for newcomers at The Roosevelt Hotel, the spokesperson said, referring to a previously closed hotel that was reopened as a shelter for asylum seekers earlier this year.
Adams said on Thursday (26) that New York City and other major cities have received an exorbitant number of immigrants compared to other locations in the country.
He called on the federal government to implement a “decompression strategy.”
“When people cross the border, we have 108,000 cities and towns – we should spread them across the country, not just in New York, Chicago, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston,” Adams said.
Adams had previously requested the Biden administration to declare a state of emergency in response to the influx of immigrants and warned that accommodating them could cost the city $12 billion over the next three fiscal years.
Thousands of immigrants have been transported to New York City by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), and other states near the border in recent years.
The city is using a naval aviation field as an emergency site, temporary outdoor camps, hotels, vacant office buildings, school gymnasiums, and emergency shelters to house these individuals.
Source: Axios