“Our compassion may be limitless, but our resources are not.”
Mayor Eric Adams repeated this line Wednesday while announcing that his administration expects the city to spend up to $12 billion over the next three fiscal years caring for tens of thousands of migrants living in the Big Apple, without any new help from the state or federal government.
From the moment the influx of South American migrants began arriving by bus in New York City last summer, New York City has worked hard to care for them. A city of immigrants ourselves, City Hall and local charities have been doing everything they can to help migrants unwanted in border states settle here — at great economic, social and proprietary expense.
The Adams administration says it’s spent over $4 billion in providing migrant relief. The city is running out of room to house them, and is planning to open temporary shelters at public parks like Randalls Island — “the best of bad options,” as Public Advocate Jumaane Williams pointed out.
New York City can do a lot on its own, and has accomplished more for migrants over the past year than most other towns could have in such a predicament. But the truth is, as Mayor Adams pointed out, we’re buckling under the weight of this burden of care — and we need help.
President Biden has not shut the border on migrants fleeing to America, nor should he. They are running from political suppression, violence and other horrors in search of new lives in America. We must welcome them.
Still, when the current crisis is the result of southern states abandoning their responsibilities to migrants and instead shipping them off to “blue states” and cities like New York, the president must act to help those governments assisting newcomers.
Simply put: President Biden, help us!
Declare an emergency in New York.
Release billions of dollars in federal aid to help New York City create temporary and permanent housing.
Send the Armed Forces in to open up emergency shelter spaces and care for the newcomers while more permanent housing is created.
Cut some of the red tape to expedite approval of work visas and citizenship applications for the migrants.
And put those states which reject migrants in their place by federalizing their agencies to directly respond to and care for the newcomers.
Mayor Adams is correct: New York’s compassion is limitless, but its resources are not. The federal government — which came to New York’s aid after 9/11, Superstorm Sandy and COVID-19 — is the only entity with limitless resources to deliver the care and resources New York and our migrants need.
