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By Nick Mordowanec
Staff Writer
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As New York officials statewide are working on a plan to relocate migrants back to the epicenter of New York City, one county executive says money spent could help an exacerbated "homeless epidemic."
Officials, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and others from upstate New York, including leaders of the New York State Association of County (NYSAC), are discussing how to relocate asylum-seekers from areas outside New York City and bring them back as the school year ends this week, Spectrum News NY1 reported.
Newsweek reached out to Adams' office via email for comment.
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New York City has become a national hotspot for migrant asylum-seekers, with more than 200,000 of them coming since the spring of 2022 and more than 65,000 still being aided by the city's resources. Roughly 1,500 migrants are living in shelters outside the city.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy told Newsweek on Tuesday that the migrant population in his county continues to fluctuate. Albany County is home to roughly 320,000 residents and approximately 1,300 asylum-seekers, including about 700 who are not currently part of the existing Migrant Relocation Assistance Program (MRAP) and are assumed to return to New York City in July.
"I'm dealing with a homeless epidemic, dealing with more women and children in shelters than ever before," McCoy said. "Food prices are up, so our pantries are thin. I need to take care of my people first."
He said the state's budget allocation of nearly $4 billion over the past two cycles for services rendered, such as housing and medical care, "is having a fiscal impact" and that money could help in other ways.
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In March, McCoy, the president of NYSAC, and other NYSAC officials visited the southern border to assess the situation for themselves. While in the border city of El Paso, Texas, they even drafted a letter addressed to President Joe Biden and Congress.
The letter requested a variety of reforms, including a bigger investment in border agents, streamlining the legal immigration process, providing federal funding for New York communities impacted by the migrant influx, making investments to ensure the humane treatment of migrants, and providing FEMA funding to support New York City and impacted communities.
"I'd be a fool if I told you the letter changed anything at all, but I hope it had input," said McCoy, who runs a first-of-its-kind immigration office in New York that represents 13 counties that consistently work with attorneys who represent migrants who want U.S. citizenship. This process can take over a decade in some instances.
"The system's broke, and it needs to be changed," McCoy said. "We need to stop playing politics...People come to New York City because they can get free transportation to Tennessee or California. It's ironic that they're fully aware if they have no money and can't earn money they can go to New York City for free transportation."
Albany County is dealing with the 1,300 or so migrants, while McCoy says other counties aren't as inundated, such as less than 100 migrants in Erie County and under 250 in Monroe County.
"I'm pulling my fair weight, but there comes a point," McCoy added.
In cohesion with a homelessness dashboard unveiled in April to assess sheltered individuals citywide, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said that more than 120,000 individuals resided in homeless shelters in February 2024, including asylum-seekers and new arrivals.
The shelter population "sharply rose" by 167 percent since April 2022 due to migrants and asylees.
NYSAC Executive Director Stephen Acquario told Spectrum News that migrants being relocated upstate was intended from the start to be "temporary," done in response to Texas Governor Greg Abbott bussing migrants to so-called sanctuary cities.
"The city seems to be able to handle the influx, but the city needs ongoing resources from federal and state governments," Acquario said.
Newsweek reached out to NYSAC via email for comment.
New York counties, like officials in other nationwide cities like Denver, have long been vocal about the need for additional federal funding to properly care for and navigate the consistent flow of asylum-seekers.
In October, Acquario sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, requesting an extension of the Federal Impact Aid program to benefit migrants and asylees coming to the United States while the federal immigration system remains "broken."
"The large influx of migrants and asylees is a direct result of the federal government's unwillingness or inability to fix our outdated federal immigration laws," Acquario wrote. "The lack of action by federal officials to fix the broken immigration system has simply shifted the burden onto local governments and school districts across the nation.
"Congress must act, and if they can't or won't, then they need to expand the impact aid to be available to the local jurisdictions that are bearing the brunt of their inaction."
Immigration-based legislation ultimately failed in the U.S. Senate earlier this year. Even if it had passed in the chamber, House Republicans would have most likely rejected it based on the opposition espoused by House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Earlier this month, New York City Council unanimously passed (50-0 votes) Introductions 84 and 85, requiring Adams and his office to direct agencies to develop and administer workforce and health care related surveys, which will result in reports published in September 2025.
The legislation was introduced by Council Member Carlina Rivera.
"By collecting data on the economic challenges and opportunities for individuals seeking asylum, city officials can better direct investments to community-based organizations doing certifications and training and facilitate connections to open roles as more migrants secure employment authorization," Edward Amador, spokesperson for Rivera, told Newsweek.
"Similarly, a comprehensive survey and collection of anonymized data will help our public care systems respond and adapt to a changing landscape of needs and ensure we better understand barriers to securing quality insurance and health care."
The legislation will lead to "no substantive changes to New York City's humanitarian response at this time," Amador added, though they could shape a more informed response moving forward.
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