New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) asked Washington for funding to help grapple with the large number of migrants who are residing in her state. The governor’s efforts come as a majority of New Yorkers expressed their concern about how the issue is being handled.
The governor requested that President Joe Biden intercede for the state, saying that she has requested federal assistance for more than a year as New York “manage[s] the unprecedented number of asylum seekers arriving in our state.”
Hochul said that it was “past time” for Biden to “take action and provide New York with the aid needed to continue managing this ongoing crisis.”
She further requested that the president approve work permits for the migrants.
The governor said that the state “cannot shoulder these costs” and that she could not “ask New Yorkers to pay for what is fundamentally a federal responsibility and I urge the federal government to take prompt and significant action today to meet its obligation to New York State.”
New York City has received about 100,000 migrants since last year. Many of the migrants have arrived since Biden announced the end of the Title 42 asylum policy enacted by former President Donald Trump.
A number of political leaders describe the city’s resources at a breaking point.
Democrats are waking up to the reality Texas has dealt with for over two years.
NYC experiences just a FRACTION of the burden Texas faces every day due to Biden's border crisis.
Every state is a border state until Biden secures the border.https://t.co/2TjqM4zyUy
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 18, 2023
The governor’s pleas also come as a significant majority of New Yorkers expressed concern about the migrant situation, according to a new poll.
The Siena College survey found broad agreement among different groups of New Yorkers, with 82% saying that the migrant wave is a “serious” problem, including 54% who call it a “very serious” issue.
Furthermore, another majority of New Yorkers, 58%, said that their state should restrict migration. Another 36% sought increases in migration to the Empire State. Among those who wanted to reverse the flow of immigration, almost 80% of Republicans and 60% of independents agreed with the sentiment.
Perhaps most surprising given New York’s traditional politics is that 46% of respondents said that migration to the state over the last 20 years has been more of a burden than a benefit. A total of 32% disagreed.
