New York City officials are offering illegal immigrants a one-way ticket to anywhere in the world as part of its latest drive to get them off the streets ahead of the winter.
The city, which is seeing an influx of 4,000 new immigrants each week, has asked the Biden administration and the state of New York to help with the crisis, but it continues to face a worsening problem as the city runs out of room to house them.
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“With no sign of a decompression strategy in the near future, we have established a reticketing center for migrants,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams's spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak told the Washington Examiner on Friday. “Here, the city will redouble efforts to purchase tickets for migrants to help them take the next steps in their journeys.”
The more aggressive plan comes as the city deals with 130,000 immigrants who have entered the Big Apple since last year and as it tightens how long newcomers can stay in shelters. Immigrants can now only remain in shelters for 30-60 days. However, the majority of immigrants find alternative housing or take up the city's reticketing offer upon completing their stay.
The newcomers are allowed to fly anywhere in the world on the city's dime, and some have chosen places such as Colombia and Morocco. However, others have decided to remain in the United States but travel to less crowded states such as Michigan. According to the city, less than 20% of the immigrants who have exceeded their 30-or-60-day limits continue to be in its care.
The costs of airfare for the immigrants, regardless of destination, would be noticeably cheaper than the $394 daily costs of housing each one. The city now pays for housing and food for illegal immigrants, among other costs.
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“When you are out of room, that means you’re out of room,” Adams told reporters Tuesday. “Every year, my relatives show up for Thanksgiving, and they want to all sleep at my house. There’s no more room. That’s where we are right now.”
The news comes as the New York City Fire Department closed multiple shelters for immigrants due to fire safety concerns over the past few weeks, according to CBS News. The city is presently using a naval airfield as an emergency site, plus outdoor tent cities, vacant office buildings, school gyms, hotels, and emergency shelters to house people.