New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said this week that his state would not accept migrants from neighboring New York. The disagreement between the two Democratic Party-dominated states could increase pressure on Empire State officials as New York grapples with a significant influx of illegal aliens.
There is significant opposition to a plan to house migrants from New York at the Atlantic City International Airport. Murphy said that he did not see “any scenario” where migrants could be placed there.
The Department of Homeland Security recommended the airport as one of 11 locations owned by the federal government that could shelter the immigrants.
The news comes as New York City attempts to handle approximately 100,000 migrants who entered the city since last year. Migration across the southern border increased considerably after the Biden administration announced the end of the Title 42 asylum policy instituted under former President Donald Trump.
We can’t handle more migrants, either: NJ Gov. Murphy https://t.co/Q0L3yl3Gw5 pic.twitter.com/oNSZZVI8Vp
— New York Post (@nypost) September 1, 2023
“We are already seeing folks in New Jersey that have probably swelled into Jersey from New York City or from other locations, but you need scale, enormous amount of federal support — resources that go beyond anything that we can afford — putting everything else aside,” Murphy said.
New York has seen a number of significant protests in recent weeks against plans to open new migrant shelters across the city, especially in the borough of Staten Island. The demonstrations resulted in the arrests of some of the protesters, including former Republican mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Furthermore, New York City schools anticipate bringing in about 20,000 new migrant children for this academic year.
The city said that it did have resources for the students and that they would be able to attend public school prior to receiving vaccinations. Vaccines against diseases such as polio are a requirement of New York City schools.
Other Democratic Party-led locales have seen significant protests against migrant resettlement plans, including speakers against multiple shelters in Chicago.
