New York Mayor Eric Adams took a victory lap touting his administration’s management with an announcement that the city has closed 25 migrant shelters on his watch.
In a statement from the mayor’s office, it was announced that 25 migrant shelters would be closing, citing “successful asylum seeker management strategies.” One of the shelters closing is perhaps the most controversial — the shelter set up in Floyd Bennett Field, a park and onetime airfield that is located in parts of New York City and New Jersey.
“Thanks to our smart management strategies, we’ve turned the corner, and this additional slate of shelter closures we’re announcing today is even more proof that we’re managing this crisis better than any other city in the nation,” Adams said.
Adams has been critical of his party’s immigration rhetoric, even signaling that he would work with President-elect Donald Trump to deport illegal immigrants. Tuesday’s announcement that the city would be cutting services for migrants, many of whom have been bused to the state from the border, was released with a celebratory tone.
“Our intensive case management, paired with 30- and 60-day policies, have helped more than 170,000 migrants take their next steps on their journeys, because migrants don’t come here to live in our shelter system — they come here to pursue the American Dream,” Adams said. “We’re going to continue looking for more sites to consolidate and close, and more opportunities to save taxpayer money, as we continue to successfully manage this response.”
The website announcement also partially credited a decrease in border crossings, citing the Adams administration’s “successful advocacy for executive orders at the border by the Biden-Harris administration.”
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New York was thrust into the center of the national immigration debate in 2022 when Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) began busing tens of thousands of migrants to the city, along with other blue metropolises.
The influx of migrants has put a severe strain on public services. Altogether, 759,218 illegal immigrants reside in New York City, of which 58,626 are either convicted felons or facing criminal charges, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data.