New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) indicated this week that he may open his official residence to migrants. Adams said that Gracie Mansion, which serves as the home of the Big Apple’s mayor, is under active consideration as the city struggles to handle the recent wave from the southern border.
During a press conference this week, the mayor was asked about whether or not he would use his official residence as a shelter for the migrants.
He said that he was “speaking with the staff to see if I can put a few families into Gracie Mansion.”
Adams said that “if it doesn’t go against legal protocols because there are protocols that are in place that I can’t use the building any way I want.”
Vacancy at Gracie Mansion! NYC Mayor Adams considers housing migrants at official residence https://t.co/2xuw7KZFoV pic.twitter.com/azA1bWOk5h
— New York Post (@nypost) June 6, 2023
“But I don’t have a problem if I could put a migrant family in Gracie Mansion,” he told reporters.
The mayor said that the city was handling more than 61,000 migrants since last year and feared that New York would “potentially get thousands of people a day in our city.”
Last year, the mayor criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for sending migrants to other parts of the country, calling it “horrific.”
New York City’s current issues with the migrant surge are not unique. Many cities and states have seen a significant influx of illegal immigrants since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
Furthermore, there has been a further increase of migrants coming across the border since Biden announced the end of Title 42. The COVID-era immigration policy was enacted by former President Donald Trump.
The end of the policy also sparked considerable public debate over both federal immigration policy and how to manage the large number of people coming into the country. Several cities, including New York, have declared a state of emergency due to the current situation.
Last year, Adams said that “though our compassion is limitless, our resources are not.”
Gotham has housed a large number of migrants in a number of facilities and hotels across the city. These include hundreds of immigrants housed in the former four-star Roosevelt Hotel. New York has opened more than 100 facilities for the same purpose.
New York City also received considerable criticism for sending migrants to other counties within the state, including further upstate and on Long Island.
New York’s decisions come after both state and city governments declared themselves sanctuaries for illegal immigrants.
