NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Mayor Eric Adams will travel to El Paso, Texas, on Saturday after the city said Friday it received over 3,100 asylum-seekers in the past week, including a record number of 835 last Thursday.
Adams' press secretary, Fabien Levy, confirmed Friday that part of that trip will include "multiple stops at and near the U.S. southern border" as the city "continues to face an unprecedented influx" of asylum-seekers.
Since the spring, New York City has accepted 40,000 asylum-seekers and opened 74 emergency shelters and four humanitarian relief centers.
Adams sent an emergency mutual aid request to New York state asking to support additional sheltering because the city is at a "breaking point."
"Based off our projections, we anticipate being unable to continue sheltering arriving asylum seekers on our own and have submitted an emergency mutual aid request to the State of New York beginning this weekend," Adams said in a statement. "This type of request, reserved only for dire emergencies, asks the state for support to shelter arriving asylum seekers as the city faces an immediate need for additional capacity."
"Our initial request is for shelter to accommodate 500 asylum seekers, but, as New York City continues to see numbers balloon, this estimate will increase as well," the mayor added.
Additionally, Adams criticized the government for failing to enact "sorely needed federal immigration reform", saying that this "should not mean that this humanitarian crisis falls only on the shoulders of cities."
"We need support and aid from our federal and state partners and look forward to working together to meet this crisis head-on," he added.
In a joint statement, the Legal Aid Society and Coalition for the Homeless reiterated the city's legal obligation to provide a bed to anybody in need of shelter.
"Regardless of the circumstances, these are obligations that no mayor can shirk," the statement said. "That said, Washington and Albany have so far provided only minimal financial assistance for the City to meet this moment, and all levels of government must do their part to ensure that legal obligations are met and all people in need, including asylum seekers, are provided access to safe, decent, and accessible shelter."
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