August 25, 2023
As asylum seeking refugees continue to pour into New York City, finding places to shelter them has become a hot button issue. Residents on Staten Island opposing a plan to house some of the migrants in a vacant schoolhouse there notched a win today when a judge ruled in their favor, temporarily blocking the move.
The Mayor and the Governor have diverged on what needs to happen. Adams has called for an Executive Order that would utilize State owned sites Upstate and on Long Island to accept some migrants. Hochul has resisted that request and proposed a Federal solution instead: work authorizations so the refugees can get off the streets and on with their lives.
On Wednesday the shelter issues came before a judge. Outside of the 60 Center Street Courthouse, Legal Aid attorneys held a news briefing. One of them, Joshua Goldfein, called for a statewide standard with the Governor taking charge of the matter.
Joshua Goldfein
Goldfein said the migrants could supply labor and potentially revitalize Upstate communities. Granting work permits could alleviate some of those communities’ objections, specifically that they oppose an influx of people who can’t support themselves. A decision on work authorizations has to come from the Federal government.
“These individuals are literally fleeing for their lives – political strife, gang violence, extreme poverty, and persecution. They’re coming to this country with the same goal that my once impoverished Irish grandparents did, just to build a better life for themselves and their families. And while my grandpa started work in this country as a migrant farm worker, he and millions of others who came before us lived the American dream that has beaconed people from across the globe.
“He was welcomed by the Statue of Liberty. But he lived that dream because he could work here in his adopted country. So to answer the question, people are coming here to seek asylum status here in the United States so they can be safe and ultimately work to support themselves. Why New York City? First of all, we know New York City has a long history, a proud history, of embracing immigrants.”
~Governor Hochul