Top Democrats have been struggling to contain the influx of immigrants into New York, resulting in a majority of voters believing the crisis is a serious problem for the state.
The number of asylum-seekers rose to about 100,000 in New York City as Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Mayor Eric Adams grapple with providing shelters and resources to the immigrants. After months of conflict on how to tackle the crisis, 82% of New York voters reported the immigrant influx was serious, and 54% said it’s very serious, according to a Siena College Research Institute poll published Tuesday.
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Hochul has ramped up criticisms at the federal government and other New York leaders for their handling of the crisis, launching complaints at Adams and the Biden administration in a court filing last week recommending more support for the immigration crisis there. Hochul denounced the city for refusing to accept a number of state offers, including new sites.
The poll showed Hochul’s lowest approval rating ever, coming in at 40%, dropping down from 42% in June.
Voters also disapprove of the job that Hochul is doing to address the immigrant influx by 51% and don't support the job Adams is doing by 47%. New Yorkers don’t support Biden’s handling of the situation by 59%.
“New Yorkers — including huge majorities of Democrats, Republicans, independents, upstaters and downstaters — overwhelmingly say that the recent influx of migrants to New York is a serious problem for the state," Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said.
The poll was conducted a week before the Biden administration signed off on New York to house more than 2,000 immigrants and asylum-seekers at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn on Monday, a goal the state has been in talks with the White House for months.
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Republican New York lawmakers have voiced frustrations over the excess of immigrants, pushing to close the southern border after the federal government made significant changes to border security this year.
“Close the border," Rep. George Santos (R-NY) said Tuesday morning outside the immigrant shelter operated out of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center campus in Queens. "We need to close the floodgates. We need to stop this. This is common sense, folks."