New York City is considering housing some migrants in about two dozen school gyms as it tries to find solutions for those arriving, Mayor Eric Adams told New York 1 on Tuesday.
He emphasized that each gym used for this purpose would be a completely separate building from the school and that it would only be a last resort.
"We have an order, almost an order, of where we have to go as the crisis continues," Adams said. "This is one of the last places we want to look at. None of us are comfortable with having to take these drastic steps. But I could not have been more clear for the last few months of what we are facing."
Adams has been warning that, after the expiration of Title 42 last week, the city would not be capable handling the expected massive influx of migrants, The Hill reported.
During the coronavirus pandemic-era, Title 42 was a mechanism where the authorities could quickly expel asylum seekers from the U.S.
In anticipation of the influx, some southern states with Republican governors have been in recent months busing migrants to northern cities, making the situation worse for New York.
Adams said Tuesday that the city has received more than 65,000 migrants during that time. Due to that situation, he backtracked on the city's guarantee to provide shelter to all. He also started busing some migrants to other counties further north in the state.
So far, despite the expiration of Title 42, a surge of migrants has not developed and border encounters are actually down, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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