Letter by Governor Hochul to Court Criticizes City Response to Migrant Crises

By Hamodia Staff

In a newly publicized letter on behalf of Governor Kathy Hochul to the court regarding the migrant crisis, New York State underscored and acknowledged a long list of conflicts which were raised by Rockland County since the issues first surfaced in May.

The letter, which was a response to the City of New York’s demands for help from the state, included several criticisms − which the County has echoed – about the lack of action and planning for a crisis that first began back in Spring of 2022.

The complaints include the shortage of ample beds still available in the City of New York’s shelter system, and pointed out that the state had already identified numerous state-owned properties for housing in October of 2022.

Other criticism noted the lack of coordination and communication with localities and counties regarding temporary shelter outside of the City of New York, and the lack of legal authority to extend their Sanctuary City obligation to provide shelter to other counties and localities.

The letter also mentioned that by sending migrants to other municipalities and counties with little or no notice, it resulted in litigation which impeded the fostering productive relationships with neighboring municipalities. Thirty-eight counties and three towns have declared States of Emergencies to shield their constituents from taking on the responsibilities of New York City’s Sanctuary City declaration.

“Conditions, infrastructure, and resources across this state vary including here in Rockland which has one of the lowest unemployment rates across the state and a severe housing crisis that organic migration is complicating and compounding,” explained Rockland County Executive Ed Day. “I appreciate Governor Kathy Hochul for finally acknowledging the many criticisms municipalities such as my administration have been raising for months about this poorly planned decompression strategy.

“Constituents are overwhelmingly opposed to housing migrants, all-expenses-paid, for up to a year, while our own homeless and low-income residents struggle to make ends meet. I once again urge Governor Hochul to team up with the Governors across the country and Federal lawmakers to put an end to incentivized illegal immigration that isn’t helping people, but rather hurting people,” Day concluded.

The letter also criticized Mayor Eric Adams for failing to prioritize legal services for migrants to obtain asylum and work authorization.