Hundreds of migrants face eviction from public-funded housing as protesters try to intervene

On Monday, several hundred migrants were housed in two hotels in the state's capital region, and activists and elected officials gathered outside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's office in Albany to protest the closure of these hotels.

The city of New York has a law that mandates providing shelter to anyone who requests it and lacks alternative housing options.

Organizers of the protest stated that they were urging Hochul to intervene to prevent the eviction of migrants and to allocate new state funds to house them.

During the protest, Angelica Perez-Delgado, president of Ibero-American Action League, stated, "Our immediate priority is to prevent hotel evictions. We require Gov. Hochul's leadership and financial support to fund at least six months of housing and related services."

This month, the New York City government is paying for the Ramada Plaza and Holiday Inn Express in Albany, where migrants have been staying.

In Albany, there are only a small portion of the 58,000 migrants being housed by New York City and the over 223,000 migrants who have received taxpayer aid since 2022.

The New York City Comptroller's Office has released a report stating that the city will spend $987 million in two years on hotels for migrants, with a total expenditure of over $12 billion in responding to the migrant surge by fiscal 2025.

By the end of the year, the city has scaled back its shelter program and closed 12 shelters since the election of President-elect Donald Trump last month.

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New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been behind many of the moves to crack down on services for migrants, stating, "We have been wasting taxpayers’ money for far too long."

By the end of the year, eight more hotels-turned-migrant shelters in Dutchess, Erie, Orange, and Westchester counties will shut down, in addition to the two that have already closed in Manhattan and Queens.

A coalition of local nonprofits and the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement organized the protest against the closures.

Bryan McCormack, co-executive director of the Columbia County Sanctuary Movement, stated that migrant families should not be compelled to forsake their employment or relocate their lives to return to New York City shelters.

After the rally, McCormack stated that it is crucial to locate the migrants and provide them with shelter before the harsh New York winter arrives. He also criticized New York City for using the crisis and migrants as a "political football" and for mismanaging the entire process.

The migrants staying in hotels have "already found stable employment and built a life in New York" and have "significantly contributed to the city's communities, cultures, and economies."

"The immigrant community has greatly impacted our lives as New York residents, from the food we eat to the revitalization of our cities through construction, and their care for the sick and elderly during the pandemic. We hope they will continue to contribute to the capital region's culture and economy and fully integrate into our community."

Matt Slater, a New York State Assembly member, stated that the protesters outside Hochul's office are not in tune with the true sentiments of New Yorkers regarding the migrant crisis.

"My constituents demand accountability and respect for the rule of law. They want to ensure that illegal immigration is illegal. Period."

A majority of New York voters (54% to 35%) support the Trump administration's efforts to deport illegal immigrants in the state, according to a Siena poll published this week.

"Slater stated that it is a genuine concern for his constituents in the Hudson Valley. If individuals are protesting the fact that we are finally addressing illegal immigration, they should open their own doors and welcome these people in. No one is stopping them from doing so. However, to sit here and claim that taxpayers should continue to fund billions of dollars to incentivize those who are breaking our laws is absurd and irrational."

Slater stated that while he is optimistic about the Trump administration tightening the border, he emphasized that New York state and city governments must also contribute.

In the latest budget, New York, a sanctuary state, allocated $4.3 billion of taxpayer money to offer various services for migrants, including housing, clothing, food, and cellphones.

""It is unacceptable for a state or city government to use taxpayer money to encourage illegal immigration, and this practice must be stopped," he stated."