NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams on Monday called for a quicker path to legal work status for thousands of asylum seekers coming to New York, saying it will help the state deal with a worker shortage.
At a news conference at Brooklyn's Industry City, Hochul and Adams sought to project a united front as the city and state push Washington to do more amid a migrant influx that the mayor called a challenge of "epic proportions." They were joined by business leaders and immigration advocates, as well as Democratic U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler and Daniel Goldman.
The governor and mayor joined key business partners, asking Congress and the White House to shorten the six-month authorization time for asylum seekers. They urged President Joe Biden to take executive action if necessary.
Hochul said there's a worker shortage in the state that newly arriving migrants can help fill if the federal government expedites their work permits. "Right now, you have to wait 180 days after you file for your legal asylum status," she said.
The governor said there's more than 5,000 farm jobs open, as well as over 5,000 food service jobs and 4,000 housekeeping and janitorial positions.
"This is a great opportunity here in the state of New York to solve two problems," Hochul said.
Hospitality industry executives have vowed to supply job training and help with the asylum process.
About 70,000 migrants have arrived in New York over the past year, with 5,800 arriving in the city just last week, according to Adams.
The mayor said that if asylum seekers can't work it's a "major impediment and interruption" in their pursuit of the American dream. He said when he speaks with them "all they ask for" is to work.
"We don't want your free room and board and food and clothing, we want to work, we want to have an opportunity to provide for ourselves," Adams said many migrants have told him.
While the city is doing everything it can to provide for asylum seekers, the mayor said the current situation is "just not sustainable."
Just last month, Adams said the federal government could take several steps to help the city deal with an influx of asylum seekers from the U.S. southern border.
His administration urged the feds to extend the eligibility period for Temporary Protected Status for migrants, expand access to humanitarian parole for asylum seekers, and increase and reassign the number of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to reduce application waiting times.
"To deny people the ability to work legally sets them up for failure," Adams said in a statement last month.
New York City is required by law to guarantee space in its huge shelter system to anyone who needs it, but the system has been bursting partly due to an influx of migrants.
Nearly 81,000 people were housed in the shelter system in the past week. City officials scrambled to find more space, including renting out entire hotels for families without permanent housing and busing some to hotels in the suburbs, leading to pushback from local leaders.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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