NYC mayor announces new shelter limits for migrants

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) said Wednesday that the city will begin providing adult migrants in its shelters with 60 days’ notice to find alternative housing, as part of an effort to make room for families with children.

Adult migrants, who will begin to be notified in the coming weeks, will receive “intensified casework services” to explore housing options and plan their next steps, according to a city press release.

If migrants cannot find alternative housing by the end of the 60 days, they will be required to reapply for shelter.

“We have no more room in the city,” Adams said at a press conference Wednesday, adding, “This cannot continue. It’s not sustainable, and we’re not going to pretend as though this is sustainable. This is wrong, that New York City is carrying the weight of a national problem.” 

More than 90,000 migrants have arrived in New York City since the spring of 2022, and more than 54,800 of them remain in the city’s care.

The city will also begin distributing flyers at the southern border, warning migrants that there is “no guarantee” of shelter and services for new arrivals and that New York City housing, food and transportation costs are expensive.

“Please consider another city as you make your decision about where to settle in the U.S.,” the flyer reads.

Brad Lander, the city comptroller, criticized the new shelter policy for migrants Wednesday, warning that it would put more people on the streets and strain other city services.

“The Mayor’s announcement today doesn’t just undermine the right-to-shelter, but the defining role of New York as a beacon of promise, inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty,” Lander said in a statement.