Gov. Hochul to Examine Constitutionality of Local Ban of Immigrants

By Hamodia Staff

Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered her administration to examine whether county governments have the authority to block New York City from importing migrants into their communities.

“We’re looking into the constitutionality of what they did,” Hochul said, adding that an analysis would be finished “very shortly.” The question centers around if the governor can override the county officials if a Rockland County judge’s restraining order is lifted.

Rockland and Orange County officials issued orders barring local hotels and short-term rentals from accepting the migrants.

“Rockland County, while beautiful, is suburban and does not have the infrastructure to support rapid population growth,” County Executive Ed Day wrote in a Sunday op-ed. “We already have a housing crisis with a severe shortage of safe and affordable units.”

On Wednesday, upstate Oneida County joined the Hudson Valley counties in barring accommodations for migrants, despite being the county where the refugee-friendly city of Utica is located.

“I understand the city’s situation, but you know the same way they don’t have the capacity or the financial wherewithal to do it and neither do I,” Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente said.

NYC Mayor Eric Adams demanded that other localities help the city accommodate a deluge of migrants from the U.S. Southern Border, which has cost the city billions of dollars.

More than 61,000 migrants have arrived in the city recently, and some 37,000 migrants are being housed by the city. This situation is expected to get worse when Title 42 ends on Thursday. That rule has allowed the federal government to immediately expel people who illegally crossed the border.

Adams has vociferously criticized President Biden in recent weeks for turning a blind eye towards New York City while it is “being destroyed by the migrant crisis” that began late last year when Texas Gov. Greg Abbot began sending migrants to the city by bus.

“We believe that this is going to continue to grow in scale. I’m working very closely with the mayor to identify more sites that we can welcome these individuals,” Hochul said. “We have hit a crisis situation.”

Hochul issued an executive order to speed up the delivery of $1 billion in state aid to help the city. In addition, the state will deploy 500 more National Guard to assist the city.

To Read The Full Story

Are you already a subscriber?
Click to log in!