NEW YORK — Several New York organizations will demonstrate Tuesday in the city and in Albany to defend the right to housing law that requires it to provide emergency housing to anyone who requests it. The protests come to oppose the actions taken by Mayor Eric Adams and the governor to suspend this requirement in the midst of a state of emergency in which the population of immigrant single adults in shelters increases at a rapid pace.
New York City also previously announced that it was limiting the stay of asylum seekers in a shelter to 60 days, which has raised concerns among immigrant advocates that the first families to comply with the measure would have to leave just before of Christmas.
The groups will call on both Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul during the protests to use a variety of resources and tools at their disposal to provide safe shelter to all who need it, move long-time homeless New Yorkers to permanent housing as quickly as possible, resettle newcomers throughout the State, and undertake other actions listed on the NY SANE website to address the current crisis.
What is the refuge law
The shelter requirement has been in place for more than four decades in New York City, following a legal settlement reached in 1981 that required the city to provide temporary housing to all homeless people. No other major city in the United States has that requirement.
National edition of Cities for Action
The protests come as the mayor and the commissioner of the Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), Manuel Castro, announced the call for the eighth annual national edition of Cities for Action (C4A), a two-day event organized by the City Gathering brought together representatives from more than 20 cities to discuss the national humanitarian crisis of asylum seekers. City leaders will participate in interactive panels and workshops to share best practices for managing the crisis and advocate for additional federal support, such as providing cities with more financial resources, expediting work authorizations for additional newcomers, and enacting a strategy national decompression and resettlement.
According to the mayor, since this humanitarian crisis began, more than 140,000 migrants have arrived in New York City seeking refuge. To address the crisis, the city has launched help centers to help new arrivals apply for asylum, work authorization and Temporary Protected Status, has opened more than 210 emergency sites to provide shelter to asylum seekers, including 18 centers additional large-scale humanitarian aid, created navigation centers with the support of community organizations to connect asylum seekers with critical resources, enrolled thousands of children in public schools through Project Open Arms, and more.
2023-12-05 17:34:24
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