New York City Mayor Eric Adams urged the Biden administration on Monday to fast-track work papers for the influx of migrants that’s become an all-consuming crisis for his administration, saying thousands of jobs are open and asylum-seekers are willing to fill them.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat, said there is high demand for labor in hospitality, agriculture, home care, transportation and other sectors that can be filled by migrants who are sitting in shelters and hotels in the city. He said the situation is unsustainable, and that letting migrants work will make them less reliant on the city.
“This city cannot stay in emergency mode,” he said.
Mr. Adams said Republicans will block legislative attempts to streamline the immigration process, so the White House needs to expedite the work-authorization process where it can through executive action.
“We’re calling on the White House, the United States Department of Homeland Security, to ensure our newest Americans can work lawfully and build stable lives for themselves,” Mr. Adams said.
The mayor said the federal government can ease the situation by redesignating temporary protected status in the country for migrants from Cameroon, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan, South Sudan and Venezuela citing upheaval in those countries.
He wants the federal government to expand access to humanitarian parole for newly arriving asylum seekers and send more U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers to process asylum seekers.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said the state needs immigration judges from other parts of the country. She said these judges can also conduct hearings remotely and should be available if the border is, in fact, experiencing an unexpected slowdown following the lifting of Title 42 pandemic powers.
“Do it on Zoom,” the governor said.
For about a year, Republicans in border states have been busing migrants to New York City and other liberal jurisdictions that billed themselves as sanctuaries for immigrants who are in the country illegally. The influx sparked a scramble in New York to shelter the migrants in the city or send them to other parts of the state.
New York City received over 5,800 asylum seekers last week, and more than 42,000 migrants are in city care, Mr. Adams said. He called it a humanitarian crisis and chastised media outlets who downplayed the gravity of the issue.
Mr. Adams is sparring with border-state Republicans and would-be allies in the White House. He says the city has not received adequate funding, vis-a-vis border states, to keep up with their migrant burden, though he thanked the New York congressional delegation for steering some new funds his way.
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Mr. Adams also says migrants should be sent to places around the U.S. so a single location is not overwhelmed.
New York leaders described the situation as both a crisis and an economic opportunity.
“There are not enough workers here in the state of New York,” Ms. Hochul said. “We also have this unprecedented influx of individuals arriving in New York. All of them legally seeking asylum. They’re eager to work, they want to work, they came here in search of work and a new future, and they can become part of our economy and part of our communities.”
Danny Meyer, city restaurateur whose Union Square Hospitality Group hosted the event, said his restaurants and facilities are able to train people within five to six weeks and will commit to hiring asylum seekers.
Leaders spoke in lofty terms about the historic importance of Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty and immigrants who for decades have flocked to New York to pursue the American dream.
“That dream should not become a nightmare when they hit our shores,” Mr. Adams said.
The leaders acknowledged that many migrants will ultimately lose their asylum claims and their work permits. They said that is a headache for the federal government to solve.
“We’re just dealing with the crisis, the humanitarian crisis, that is right at our doorstep right now,” Ms. Hochul said. “That’s down the road and we’ll let the federal government deal with that.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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