NYC Mayor Eric Adams Announces Closure of Shelters For Migrants

NEW YORK, New York – New York City Mayor Eric Adams has announced the closure of 25 shelters in the next two months that were being used to provide shelters for migrants.

Adams said that the closure is due to the administration’s successful asylum seeker management strategies that have continued to drive down the number of people in the city’s care and reduce costs.

Adams said the New York  City administration had successfully advocated for executive orders at the border by the Biden-Harris administration, which have significantly reduced the rate at which asylum seekers are arriving in the city and seeking and seeking care.

He said that  the number of asylum seekers in city shelters has decreased to its lowest point in over 17 months.

Immigration advocates say that many of the migrants arriving in New York, from the southern border of the United States seeking asylum and refugee statuses, are nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

The mayor said New York State, which has been paying the costs of sheltering migrants will continue to reimburse New York City for costs for equivalent care incurred at other sites across the city.

Earlier this year, Adams announced that the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Center at Randall’s Island in Manhattan will close on February 28, 2025.

“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,” said Mayor Adams.

“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,” he added.

The Mayor’s Office of Asylum Seeker Operations Executive Director Molly Schaeffer s at the height of this humanitarian response, the Floyd Bennett Field activation served as a relief valve to provide critical shelter and resources to hundreds of families at their greatest time of need.

“Today’s announcement is a direct reflection of the tireless commitment of our teams and the tremendous work they do every day to ensure that people are ready to move on to the next steps in their journeys to self-sufficiency. New York City continues to lead from the front,” ,” Schaeffer added.

Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC), an umbrella policy and advocacy organization that represents over 200 immigrant and refugee rights groups throughout New York, said that “New York’s future success depends on investing in all who call this city home, whether they arrived 30 days ago or 30 years ago.

“Housing families in congregate settings, such as tents in remote locations far from public transportation, grocery stores, schools, and job opportunities, has been a flawed and short-sighted approach from the very beginning,” he told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).

But Awawdeh said while NYIC welcomes the impeding close of Floyed Bennett Field, “it is not enough,” urging the Adams administration to take further steps by focusing on humane and long-term solutions “that truly support our newest neighbours.

“The city must prioritize creating pathways to permanent housing that provide stability and dignity, ensuring immigrant New Yorkers can build their lives here and contribute to our communities,” he said.

Natalia Aristizabal, deputy director at Make the Road New York, another immigrant advocacy group with 28,000 members, said “we are pleased to see that New York City is taking this initial step to protect the lives of immigrant families ahead of Trump’s inauguration by closing shelters that only house new arrivals.

“The Floyd Bennett Field shelter, which was never an appropriate site to house families, is especially vulnerable as it is situated on federal property and would likely be targeted by the Trump administration for deportation raids,” she told CMC.