New York opens office to request asylum in the US after avalanche of migrants

Faced with the avalanche of immigrants, the majority of whom are Latinos and particularly Venezuelans, who have arrived in New York in recent months, the mayor announced on Tuesday the opening of an office that will channel the needs of asylum seekers and that will operate 24 hours a day.

This is the “next phase of the response to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis” that the city is experiencing, where 50,000 asylum seekers have arrived since April last year, of whom 30,000 receive accommodation and food at the expense of the municipality, he announced. the mayor, Democrat Eric Adams.

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The new roadmap, titled “The Way Forward: Plan to Address New York City’s Response to the Asylum Seeker Crisis,” includes the creation of the Office of Asylum Seeker Operations (OASO , for its acronym in English) to coordinate the response of the city, with a special focus on housing and legal services.

Migrants will be directed to the new center, which will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, when they arrive at the Authority Bus Terminal, the gateway to the Big Apple. It is, according to Adams, to move from emergency response to “a state of stable operation.”

Asylum seekers are “tomorrow’s citizens, leaders and innovators,” said Adams, who is “proud that New York City is leading the way, turning a crisis into an opportunity for progress for the entire country.” , said.

So far, the city has spent 650 million dollars, according to sources quoted by The Gothamist newspaper, which indicate that by the end of June 2025, this item will rise to 4,000 million. According to the same source, the city spends an average of $364 per day for each personal or family accommodation.

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So far, New York has opened 92 reception centers in its five boroughs in hotels, hostels and even in the cruise terminal to accommodate the avalanche of immigrants who arrive with their clothes on, and has enrolled more than 13,000 students, reported Mayor.

In addition, the city provides food, clothing, health care, education or legal information to tens of thousands of new arrivals, many sent by bus from the Republican-ruled southern states, protesting the immigration policy of the Democratic Joe administration. Biden.

The New York mayor’s office is exploring short- and long-term strategies to continue housing new migrants, including agreements with religious institutions and ways to finance affordable housing in a city with a dire homelessness that has sent rents skyrocketing.

Also among the mayor’s plans is a pilot program with two institutions, The Center for Discovery and SUNY Sullivan, to offer 100 asylum seekers job training while they move through the federal work authorization process.

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