Mayor Eric Adams renewed his call to dismantle a decades-old requirement to provide housing to anyone who requests it amid an ongoing crush of migrants pouring into the Big Apple.
As Southern states flooded the city with unwanted migrants over the past six months, the Adams administration has taken their argument to court to get relief from the so-called “right to shelter” — a legal requirement stemming from a series of rulings dating back to the 1980s.
“The governor of Texas continues to state, ‘Well, you guys are a sanctuary city.’ That has nothing to do with this,” Hizzoner scoffed Tuesday during in weekly off-topic press conference.
“These people are paroled into the country that has nothing to do with it. While they here, we are obligated [to provide housing] and that’s why we’re in court saying that the right to shelter should not have an impact on this migrant crisis.”
“This is a real problem,” he added.
The mayor has argued “right to shelter” rules were not intended to force the city to provide housing for the more than 161,000 asylum seekers who have made their way through New York City since the start of the crisis in spring 2022.
It has been unclear what specific relief the city has sought from the court, with almost all of the arguments being made in closed-door meetings with the judge. The Legal Aid Society, which supports the rights of migrants, has previously said it is hopeful both sides could reach some middle ground.
The legal battle has since entered private mediation with no court date on the public docket.
Local lawmakers have argued the rule makes the city much more appealing than other destinations in the US after crossing the border.
The lawmakers’ suspicions appeared to be confirmed on Tuesday by a family of three who arrived at the Roosevelt Hotel. A mother told The Post her family was sent to NYC from Boston via train with hopes of better housing.
“They don’t really help you in Boston,” said Marien Villegas, 32. “It’s more comfortable here. Better.”
But the mom said they were turned away from the hotel and planned to head south with few provisions to brave the northeast winter.
Currently, more than 68,000 asylum seekers are under the city’s care across more than 200 makeshift shelters.
The vast majority of those migrants have been bused or flown to the Big Apple by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Adams’ comments came Tuesday afternoon following a pre-taped Fox5’s Good Day interview in the morning when Adams said he misspoke, saying the Big Apple’s sanctuary city status was not being used “as intended.”
“We cannot by law… tell someone if they come into the city you can’t come into the city. We can’t even turn them over to ICE,” the mayor responded to a question about the city’s adoption of policies barring it from working with the feds on immigration laws.
Gov. Kathy Hochul came to the mayor’s defense when asked Tuesday at a separate unrelated event, saying she supported “the mayor’s efforts to try to get control of a situation.
“We do not have the ability to house the entire world,” she said.
The governor had previously pushed back on the mayor’s battle to tweak the rule but later sided with Adams in court.
A Queens city councilmember welcomed the governor’s support but lamented that the fate of the migrant crisis ultimately depends on the federal response.
“It’s nice to see the Governor agree with the city that the Right to Shelter is not meant for housing the entire world,” said City Councilmember Bob Holden (D-Queens). “However, the city and state have to hold the Biden Administration accountable for their failure at the border and must stop kowtowing to the left who seeks to destroy our city.”
Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts and Max Rivera